The plot of Far from the Madding Crowd concerns a young woman, Bathsheba Everdene, and the three men in her life : one is a poor sheep farmer who loses his flock in a tragedy and ends up working as an employee on Bathsheba's farm ; one is the respectable, boring owner of a neighboring farm who takes Bathsheba's flirtations too seriously; and the third is a dashing army sergeant who treats her like just another of his conquests.