Ireland, 1851. After enduring years of the devastating potato famine, Ellen Kittrick is a survivor. To put food on the table, and to stop the landowner's agent from tearing down their cottage due to unpaid rent, Ellen defies her family and works at an Englishman's manor. But with an unemployed husband and a secretive brother-in-law wanting her for his own, she must face every challenge with new strength.

York, 1852. When Caroline Lawson becomes a young widow, her grief is deepened by the loss of her farm. A rash decision to travel to York to find work doesn't turn out as she expected. With money running low, Caroline fears she will soon have no choice but the workhouse. However, she is not without hope, and with her new friends, feisty Trixie, and her two little sisters and the unique Mussy, Caroline learns she is stronger than she realised and that even in the worst of times, friendship is all you need.

Detective Dave Burrows has longed for the top job in the Stock Squad but never thought he'd be acting in that role while his partner and best mate, Detective Bob Holden, is treated for melanoma. Bob is keen to get back on the road and Dave can't wait to go bush either, expecting the trip will be much the same as usual. But the trip doesn't play out that way. Multiple bomb blasts in the small country town of Kallygarn send shock waves through the state of WA, and Dave and Bob are once again drawn into the underworld of crime.

In a village in Wiltshire, just off a busy road, Larch Tree Lane winds slowly up a low hill. Among the residents is Maggie Hatherall, full of life despite her advancing years, who worries what she is going to do with her 200-year-old home. Lucia Grey has escaped a bad marriage but her ex is reluctant to let her start a new life free of him. And for architect Corin Drayton, an unexpected inheritance is the start of a complicated family wrangle. From the cottages and farms to the local shop, pub and old manor house, the residents' lives are set to intertwine and relationships bloom.

Yorkshire Dales, 1850. As a terrible storm rages, Annabelle Wallis is shocked to find a distressed young woman at her cottage door, heavy with child. Moments later a baby girl is born. But by dawn, the mother has vanished, leaving behind the helpless child wrapped only in a silk peacock shawl. When news spreads that Lady Eliza Hartley, sister to a wealthy estate owner, has been found dead, Annabelle realises the terrible secret she has stumbled on. Terrified she’ll be blamed for Eliza’s death, Annabelle flees to the slums of York, where she plans to raise the orphan as her own.

1864: Suddenly left as the head of the family, Kitty McKenzie must find her inner strength to keep her family together against the odds. Evicted from their resplendent home in the fashionable part of York after her parents' deaths, Kitty must fight the legacy of bankruptcy and homelessness to secure a home for her and her siblings. Through sheer willpower and determination, she grabs opportunities with both hands, from working on a clothes and rag stall in the market to creating a tea shop for the wealthy. 

With the heat of their beloved India far behind them, Evie Davenport and her widowed British Army officer father, are starting a new life in England. But Evie is struggling. With her dearest mother gone, Yorkshire with its cold, damp countryside and strict societal rules makes Evie feel suffocated and alone. Her friendship with Sophie Bellingham, the gently reared daughter of a wealthy rail baron, is Evie’s only comfort. Until the arrival of local cotton mill owner, Alexander Lucas. Newly returned from America, it is expected Alexander will marry and finally make England his home.

1914, Australia: As war is declared, the idyllic world of Blue Water Station is torn apart when Oliver, the eldest grandson and heir, shares his desire to enlist in the army. His enthusiasm ignites his brother, cousins and friends to do the same but upsets his sister, Tilly. After a tragic family incident, she is left to run the cattle station and take care of the older folk. A chance meeting with a sophisticated lieutenant opens up a friendship through letters, but it’s a rogue stockman who attracts her attention - with dire consequences.... 

The Great War is over, and Millie is ready to leave her loving family home and be a wife to Jeremy. But not long after their wedding, Millie discovers Jeremy is affected by shell shock, and moving into his late father's cold, dark estate escalates the problem. Millie tries to help, but Jeremy grows more distant and befriends a homeless, wounded ex-soldier, Monty, who has secrets.... 

It’s 1850, and the Noble family have travelled to the other side of the world to start a new life after scandal drove them from their native England. Pippa Noble is determined to reclaim their honour by making her father’s plan for an outback farm a reality, although her ambition is frowned upon by a society that has very set ideas about a woman’s place. Pippa learns the hard way about the unforgiving nature of the bush, sometimes with devastating consequences. 

Bristol 1936. Jenny Crawford has resigned herself to a loveless marriage living hand to mouth with their two children. Like many others, husband Roy struggles to find work at the docks but a chance encounter turns the family's fortunes around. Not only does he get regular work but they are also allocated a council house on Coronation Close on the outskirts of the city. Jenny and the children are overjoyed, this is the fresh start she could only ever dream of. But trouble feels never too far away.

Orphan Victoria Carlton is brought up by her uncle to be a lady and make a good marriage. Yet, she is drawn to help the poor families in the slums, much to her family’s disgust. When her uncle dies suddenly, her cousins blame Victoria, and she is thrown out of the house with nothing. Victoria flees to the poor side of York to start again in a world that is full of perils. 

Yorkshire, 1864. The daughter of a wealthy Yorkshire landowner, Anna Thornton leads a privileged life but longs to be accepted for the independent woman she is. When she meets Matt Cowan, she thinks she has met her soul mate. However, he’s not the man she thinks he is. After he sets sail for South America, Anna discovers she’s pregnant. Heartbroken, she flees her family home to keep her child’s illegitimacy a secret. As she starts to settle into her new life, Brenton O’Mara - who has turned his back on his father’s wealth - seeks work as a labourer at Anna’s new home....

Bristol 1939. At forty years of age, Mary Anne Randall still turns heads. With an abusive husband spending most of his wages on beer, she has resigned herself to be the sole breadwinner to protect her family and keep the wolves from the door. In order to make ends meet, Mary Anne runs a pawnbroking business from the wash house at the end of the garden. Following the outbreak of war an opportunity presents itself to escape her loveless marriage and find true love. Will she take that chance, or carry on living just for her children and not for herself?

1867: Nicola Douglas attends a lecture given by Miss Maria Rye, the founder of the Female Middle Class Emigration Society, which inspires her to change her life. With no family, but a good education, she boards a ship to Australia with high hopes of a fresh start in a new country as a governess. Sydney is full of young women with similar ambitions and poor prospects - but when a wealthy benefactor appears, she finds a foothold. What she never anticipated was the attention of two suitors: Nathaniel, a privileged and attractive English gentleman; and Hilton, a beguiling American.