When Thomas Grant - one of the most eligible young men in London - proposes to Annabel Seaton, she can't say she's surprised, but she is delighted. He's been her best friend since she was a child, and she can't imagine life without him. What shocks her, however, is the reaction of her mother and father. Annabel knows that her parents disapprove of her forthright opinions, but their displeasure is both unexpected and unaccountable. As they permit the...

When Mary's father, the miller, leaves his family and runs away with another woman, Mary and her siblings are left to weather the storm. But when their mother dies soon after, the children are sent to the Foundling School for Girls to start a new life. When the miller learns of his wife's death and what has happened to his children, he tracks them down and brings them to be a part of his new family. But the miller is desperate for a son, and when...

Since the sudden death of her husband, Naomi has steadily rebuilt the life they shared in the village of Tilsham by the sea. Her eldest daughter, Martha, is sensible and determined - just like her father was - and very much in control of where her life is going. If she could just get pregnant with her husband, life would be perfect. Willow, the youngest, was always more sunny and easy-going, yet drifted through life, much to her father's frustration....

Dolly Blanchard dreams of a bigger life. She wants to make a mark on the world, not simply wait for a husband to come along. So when an impoverished actress offers her a lifeline, Dolly flees to London, determined to make it on the stage and prove to her family - and herself - that she can strike out alone. But the dark city streets are full of danger. With her dreams fading to dust, Dolly soon finds herself in peril. And with the family's future...

Proud grandmother Matelda Cabrelli always has something to say. But, as she faces the end of her life, she worries she's failed to tell the stories that matter. Most of all, she finds herself needing to tell the tale of her mother Domenica's two great loves. First, Domenica's childhood sweetheart: a boy from her own small coastal town of Viareggio. Second, a mysterious Captain: an infatuation forged in the midst of WW2, and the father Matelda never...

Gracie Burton is a grandmother, living quietly in Devon. She has rarely left the village over the past 40 years. Her daughter, Carina, is immensely high-powered with her own fast-paced business in London. She has very little time for her 17-year-old daughter, Anastasia, away at boarding school, and even less time for her aging mother. In many ways, the three of them barely know each other. Then Gracie stumbles upon an advertisement for a weeklong...

Lancashire 1895: Walter has no close family left until a distant cousin and her friend seek refuge with him. He has also asked the son who emigrated to America if one of his grandsons would return and become heir to his farm. However, when the young man turns up, all is not as it seems. Improvements to their small lake and valley were started to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee of 1887 but outbreaks of Russian flu prevented this. If they...

Maureen has never learned the art of putting herself first. She always gives, and never expects anything in return for herself. Instead of being treated the same way by others, her gentle temperament has seen her taken advantage of, and now she has lost her joy in life. Maureen has a chance to change that when an unexpected windfall comes her way. Determined to make up for lost time, she decides to take a holiday and, needing a companion, looks up...

April 1941. Almost losing her life in a bomb blast while serving in the Women's Volunteer Service has made Ann Gilby take stock of what's really important - her family. With daughter Sheila back home, and Joy still working munitions at the Cadbury factory and engaged to her soldier sweetheart, home life feels more settled too. Ann has even come to an uneasy truce with her husband, Len, despite her recent discovery of his infidelity and the fact that...

1946: The war might be over but for the Gilby family there are still battles to be fought at home. For Birmingham and the Gilby family the war years have been a time of great change. With husband, Len, having left her for another woman, Ann Gilby is finally free to follow her heart. While the neighbours may be scandalised by having a divorcee in their midst, Ann is determined to rise above the local gossip and make a happy home with her former sweetheart,...