Barrow-in-Furness, 1933 The days of the Barrow Union at Roose are numbered and it is due be closed, along with all the other workhouses. Instead ‘Cottage Homes’ have been set up for pauper children, where they live under the care of a resident mother and father, Annie and Robert McClure. A skilled tailor, Robert trains boys to his profession whilst his wife prepares the girls to go into service.

Molly Dubber has been at the Home since the age of three, though she has never been told the truth about the terrible event that brought her there. When a request comes in for a new girl to work at Lindal Hall, Annie decides to put Molly forward. The Hall has a reputation for not keeping servants due to a moody and unpredictable owner, damaged by his experiences in the trenches.

Resigned to the fact that her love for Annie’s stepbrother is not requited, Molly takes up the position at the ramshackle hall. Then she finds herself with some unexpected attention – and an unwelcome visitor from the tragedy of her past . . .