Diese Serie schildert die Lebensreise einer Frau, die in den rauen Realitäten des 19. Jahrhunderts aufwächst. Ihre Träume von einem besseren Leben und der Flucht vor schwierigen Zeiten werden ständig durch Widrigkeiten und Schicksal herausgefordert. Die Erzählungen erforschen die Stärke der Familie, die Widerstandsfähigkeit und den Kampf ums Überleben angesichts unvorhergesehener Tragödien. Es ist eine ergreifende Geschichte von Hoffnung und Ausdauer durch Epochen bedeutender sozialer Veränderungen.
Brought up on her parents' smallholding in Jarrow in the harsh years of the 1870s, Rose dreams of a world beyond the grime of the town, a world glimpsed at a fairytale wedding at Ravensworth as a child. Capturing the heart of steelworker William a better life is in reach. But tragedy strikes and Rose must save her young family from destitution.
To escape her possessive and drunken step-father, Kate is sent away from teaming Jarrow to work on the Ravensworth Estate. She is soon attracting the attention of charming, headstrong Alexander and dares to dream of a future with him. But when Kate discovers herself pregnant and alone she must return to face the wrath of her step-father.
Rebellious Catherine (Kitty) McMullen, resentful of her new step-father and yearning to escape impoverished Jarrow, determines to educate herself.Soon streetwise Kitty is a ghost of the past and the well-spoken, well-read Catherine leaves the north-east to follow her dreams.But she encounters hardship and heartbreak on the road to self-discovery.