Cara Cooper’s third Christmas starts out as the best she’s ever known. As the daughter of a kitchen maid, she’s just old enough to be really excited. When a kind stranger appears and takes Cara to a beautiful house filled with toys and Christmas treats of every description, she is thrilled. Little does the toddler know that the kind stranger, Edna, has an ulterior motive. Now kidnapped, Cara’s life is set on a collision course with tragedy.

The last thing Lindy Cook wants to do is leave Yorkshire behind. The countryside is the only home she’s ever known, and its splendid landscapes lift her spirits even amidst trouble, so does Titus, the bright-eyed country boy who’s always been her dear friend. Lindy’s troubles are many. Papa has gone to London for work; Mama is quite unwell, and her two little brothers constantly need to be fed and cared for. With no resources, she has no choice but to pack her little family into a stifling railway carriage headed for a whole new world - a world she doesn’t understand. 

Will the sins of the mother condemn the daughter to a life of loss? London, 1879. At just 13 years old, Florence Smith's life will change forever. Losing almost everything, she must grow up quickly and hope that a secret scandal does not come back to haunt her. Florence and her grandmother Queenie are forced to move when the family Queenie works for falls on hard times. Florence is devastated to be leaving the only home she has known and Marcus the young lad she’s harbouring a crush on. Queenie is forced to flee to where their story began.

The Lambeth Workhouse is no place for nice dresses, so why does Violet Marsh dream of a pretty blue satin dress? Violet remembers nothing of her life before the poverty of the workhouse. Her only comforts are a recurring dream and little Joe, the cheeky orphan, who is her one friend. But, life is hard in the workhouse. At eight years old, Violet has learned to keep quiet about her dreams. She has learned that there is little hope for the future.

The Fitch children are finally safe, after they and their friends were rescued from the grim orphanage, Reed House, by Minnie and Billy Marshall. Their children’s home, Marshall’s, is full of love and laughter and a world away from their terrible ordeal of being sold to Una Reed for five shillings. There are many more children who still need a home, especially in a world where the workhouse is the last option for desperate families and so Minnie makes it her mission to build Marshall’s into a refuge for all the waifs and strays.

Born in the dark horrors of the Victorian Bedlam, Beth Thursday was a no one. An inconsequential inconvenience. After eight years of dreaming of an unknown mother rescuing her from the workhouse, Beth is unexpectedly liberated to become an apprentice in Mr Whitaker's tailor's shop. Against all the odds, Mrs Whitaker becomes a maternal figure to the young girl who shows all the signs of a gifted seamstress. 

Winter, Liverpool, 1947. Evie Kilgaren is a fighter. Abandoned by her mother and with her father long gone, she is left to raise her siblings in dockside Liverpool, as they battle against the coldest winter on record. But she is determined to make a life for herself and create a happy home for what's left of her family. Desperate for work, Evie takes a job at the Tram Tavern under the kindly watch of pub landlady and pillar of the community Connie Sharp. But Connie has problems of her own when her quiet life is upturned with the arrival of a mysterious undercover detective.

A story of love and betrayal set in the quaint Staffordshire village of Edingale in 1946. Haunted by her past, Hannah Kimble has built an impenetrable barrier around her. Life has been hard, with few pleasures. She yearns for love or even a little affection. By chance, she meets the new owner of Edingale Manor, a charismatic American. Major Joshua Tyne. When he shows interest in her, Hannah believes he loves her. But has she misinterpreted his actions and mistaken simple kindness for love? Then there's the betrayal!

In March 1876, the life of eight-year-old Josephine Mary Jones changed forever. Torn from the protection and love of her family and her beloved wolfhound, Clyde, Josie finds herself cold and alone at the Foundling Hospital, where her spirit and outspokenness is seen as nothing but trouble. Josie desperately misses her family and Clyde, but there is one small glimmer of hope in her otherwise grey and endless days: a foundling boy by the name of Leo Hastings.

London, 1879. When Ella's family is forced to live on the streets of London's East End, tragedy strikes, forcing Ella and her sister, Mary, into an orphanage where they endure long hours of hard work. When Ella is apprenticed to a cobbler, she's forcibly separated from her sister. The cobbler is a cruel man, using beatings to keep the workers in line. Ella's saving grace is Seth, who becomes her only friend. Then Seth divulges a shocking secret.

Liverpool 1950. When Evie Kilgaren takes over the running of the back office at Skinner and Son's haulage yard, she has no idea she is walking into a hive of blackmail, secrets and lies. Her fellow co-worker and childhood nemesis, Susie Blackthorn, is outraged at being demoted and is hell-bent on securing the affections of local heartthrob Danny Harris. Grace Harris, a singer on the D’Angelo transatlantic ocean liners, is returning home, engaged to be married. But Grace is harbouring her own shocking secrets and something valuable her fiancé very desperately wants back.

Dartmoor, 1875. Rose Maddiford, beautiful, vivacious and intelligent, could have her pick of men across Dartmoor. But she is in no hurry to marry unless it is for true love - and certainly not while she can help her father manage the Cherrybrook Gunpowder Mills. Then tragedy strikes. Rose’s father is injured by an explosion at the mill, and the family is left teetering on the edge of poverty. Rose is left with just two options: accept arrogant, controlling Charles Chadwicks’ proposal and move to London or let her family perish. Rose must choose duty over love. 

Ten-year-old Jack Larkin has seen more than his fair share of shocking sights, growing up in the notorious Crown Saloon. Broken hearts and broken bones are just a fact of life in a Gin Palace, but for orphan Dolly, the Crown is her last hope. After the death of her mother, Dolly ran away from her sleazy stepfather, Arthur, only to find herself living on the streets. When Jack discovers her hiding in the back yard of the Crown, he persuades his mother, Nellie Larkin, to take Dolly in.

Reese Tait is a single rancher with two small children and a run-down ranch to care for, and he’s running out of time. Aileen Warrick is a young widow with debts to pay and nowhere to turn. She’s also running out of time. Valerie Tait is the frustrated, lovelorn bride who brings them together.

The streets of Whitechapel are a savage place to grow up, especially during the terrible winter of 1895. Even before she was brought into the world, the odds were stacked against Effie Wilson. Born to two irresponsible, alcoholic parents, Effie is the eldest of five children - none of whom really stand a chance. Matters are made even worse when Effie’s parents disappear one day, never to return. Her only hope could rest in Willie Green, a sweet boy with bright hazel eyes who comes and goes from Effie’s life. If only she knew when he might appear again...