The year is 1909, and 15-year-old Rhiannon Hughes and her young stepsister, Mair, find themselves abandoned and alone. They are forced to leave their cottage in the Welsh Valleys and take refuge with Rhiannon’s aunt, a popular music hall star. Rhiannon is instantly dazzled by this glamorous new world, and by the handsome young master of ceremonies, Gus Davenport. But Mair’s feckless mother, Nellie, unexpectedly returns and lures Mair into Cardiff’s sleazy underworld.

The eldest of three children, Kate helps her mother run the Devlin plait-school. They supply the material for the famous Luton Straw Boater. Kate longs to leave this life behind and become a hat-maker. Then a family tragedy changes everything. And Joseph Devlin, Kate's estranged uncle, turns up on their doorstep. He warns Kate that the worst is yet to come. Kate loses her home and her work. Things are looking very bleak, until Daniel Groves, the new owner of Heaven Scent lavender farm takes a liking to Kate.

It is 1919 and poverty in the mining village where 16-year-old Megan Williams lives, forces her to leave her loving family to work as a kitchen maid in Bristol. Her sly cousin Lizzie, already a parlour maid at Redcliffe House, is determined to make things difficult for Megan. It was never going to be easy, for both upstairs and downstairs it is a maelstrom of feuds.

In the wake of losing both her parents, young Joanna believed Bernard Woods was the solution to all her problems. It’s only after her baby, Della, is born that Joanna discovers Bernard is a scoundrel and a drunkard, more interested in gambling than in caring for his little family. When Bernard’s past catches up to him and Joanna finds him dead, police suspect she was the one who drove the knife into his heart. She has no choice but to take her baby and flee into the perilous streets of Victorian London, where children are a commodity and women a convenience…

Abandoned on the streets by a mother who doesn't want them, Maggie and her young brothers are forced into the cruel confines of the workhouse. When Maggie is forced to leave the workhouse, and her terrified brothers, behind to begin work as a seamstress, she vows to get her family back together.

Free-spirited Rebecca Westbrook recognises her perfect match when she sees him. His name is Captain Adam Bradley. She is the harbour master’s daughter. He is smouldering and sophisticated - the most eligible captain ever to sail into the quay. Anyone can see it’s meant to be. But Rebecca is anything but charmed. Her heart belongs to Tom Mason, a lowly cooper she’s known forever. Her father doubts Tom's ability to provide securely for her. But Tom has a plan to prove him wrong. And until then, passionate Rebecca refuses to wait to be with him. But fate has other plans.

East London, 1938. Nine-year-old Daisy Purbright is a country girl at heart, and together with beloved brother Bobby, they've enjoyed the endless freedoms of rural England. But when her father gambles the family's fortunes on a speculative investment in London's docklands, Daisy and her family are swept up into the intrigue, danger and excitement. The Purbrights desperately attempt to settle to a new life in the East End, but the whisperings of war grow louder. Then Adolf Hitler conducts a paralysing bombardment on London, and war tightens its grip.

When 17-year-old Marie Sinclair travelled to Strathlinn in Scotland in 1920 to visit her brother and his new family, all she was looking for is rest and recuperation after the death of Lady Hanley, for whom she had been caring for over the past 18 months. But when her pregnant sister-in-law is rushed to hospital, Marie is forced to take on a far greater role in the lives of her Scottish family. And who is Mark Blackford, the new, young Estate owner? Meeting him on the train to Strathlinn, Marie's life becomes entwined with his, as friend, help-meet, and, maybe, something more?

Manchester, 1960. When you're young, unmarried and pregnant, in a shaming society that will never understand, there's only one place left to go. St Ann's mother and baby home. That's how restless Joan, who dreams of a glamorous new life in the Big Smoke, finds herself shut away with two unlikely new roommates: spirited Megan and timid country-girl Caroline, who fell pregnant on her first time. Abandoned by their families, they have no one to rely on but each other, as they wait out the days before they birth their babies - only to be parted from them forever.

1912. Fifteen-year-old Kate Truscott leaves her small Hampshire village to become a nursemaid to five children she's never met. She's looking forward to a new adventure. Life in town with the wealthy Winton family is different to anything Kate has known before. But she enjoys looking after her charges, becoming firm friends with Clara, the eldest daughter, and noticing that 18-year-old Philip, the eldest son, is so very handsome. But Kate knows that she would be considered an unacceptable match for a wealthy banker's son.

Cornwall, 1895. Grace Kellow is a young woman with a strong sense of who she is and where she comes from. As the daughter of a well-respected Cornish dairy owner Daniel Kellow, her existence in the village of Trehale is comfortable and peaceful. But then handsome Talek Danning comes striding over Hel Tor, and soon after his arrival Grace is hit with a revelation that leaves her questioning her identity and her place in the Trehale community. In her hour of need, Talek and his sister, Amelia, offer Grace sanctuary - but wherever Grace runs, her secret will follow....

Detective Claudia Nunn’s colleague DS Dominic Harrison has been leading the case against a dangerous serial killer, who hunts his victims using a dating app. But now his own wife has gone missing. Then a large pool of blood is discovered in their garage. And Dominic is the prime suspect. Is Dominic being framed by a serial killer, or will Claudia expose an even uglier truth?

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.

Determined not to waste his life toiling for his cruel brother, Silas arrives in town to seek his fortune. Harriet has reconciled herself to a life of domestic service for her austere uncle. And John Gunson, Chief Engineer at the Sheffield Waterworks Company, has just completed his crowning glory – the Dale Dyke dam. But one stormy night, the unthinkable happens. The dam bursts. Fatefully brought together, Silas and Harriet must now contend with their families as new love blooms. Meanwhile, Gunson faces not only an angry community but also a court of inquest looking for a scapegoat.

Staffordshire, 1911. Money is in short supply for Ginnie Jones’ family, and she is sent to Haddon Workhouse. When she meets Clara and Sam, she hopes that she has made friends for life...until tragedy strikes. Three years later, Ginnie finds work as a mouldrunner at the Potteries, but never stops thinking about her friends. When Sam and Ginnie are reunited, their bond is as strong as ever, until Sam is sent to fight in the war. Can Ginnie find the joy that she’s never had?