Matty has had to care for her three younger sisters ever since their mother’s death 10 years ago. She and the girls’ beloved father have worked hard to keep the family together, and now it’s time to celebrate as Matty turns 18. But their joy is short-lived when tragedy suddenly strikes and their father disappears on his way to London. The sisters have no way of knowing what has happened to him – only that he hasn’t returned home. With little money left they’re now forced to battle life’s misfortunes alone.... 

Fifteen-year-old Faith Wilson takes her little sister Hope’s hand. In worn-down shoes, they walk through the choking heat of the Dust Bowl, toward a new life in California. But when a storm blows in, the girls are separated from their parents. Starving and forced to sleep on the streets, Faith thinks a room in a small boarding house will keep her sister safe. But the glare in the landlady’s eye, as Faith leaves in search of their parents, has her wondering if she’s made a dangerous mistake. 

Virginia, 1933: Lauren Greenwood was born to look pretty and land a rich husband. For her and her high-society family, it’s easy to forget that America is in the devastating grip of the Great Depression, where children run wild in the streets, endless queues for soup kitchens line sidewalks, and desperation hangs in the air. But when a young servant comes to Lauren, pregnant and begging for help, her world crumbles. Someone she loves is responsible, and when she finds out the shocking truth she must decide: Protect the Greenwood name or be cast out? 

Embark on an unforgettable journey into the heart of the American West with the Sager family, pioneers who braved the infamous Oregon Trail. In the face of tragedy, Henry and Naomi Sager's seven children found themselves orphaned not once, but twice—first on the treacherous trail, and later under the care of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, courageous missionaries in the untamed lands of what is now Washington.

In two run-down houses, at the side of a barren Black Country heath, live six children with no family but each other. Abandoned or orphaned, every day is a fight to find food and keep warm. But they are determined to stay free of the clutches of the workhouse and the horrors that would face them if they were ever torn apart. Dora Parsons lives with her mother, Mary, and her evil grandmother, Edith. Edith’s house may be comfortable and warm, and food is plentiful, but every day, Dora suffers at the hands of her spiteful gran.

For years, the town of Silver Bell, Arkansas has quietly mourned the hospital fire that claimed the lives of nine of its residents—the town doctor, a young expectant mother, and seven infants. So, when journalist Finn Hardwick is assigned the story as part of a national thirtieth anniversary memorial service, he arrives at the town ready to interview its residents, thinking they’ll be ready to share and eager to make headlines. He isn’t prepared for the resistance. Or for what appears to be a collective unwillingness to answer his questions.

The year is 1938 and a family in the small South Carolina town of Beaufort faces serious adversity. After the birth of her long awaited son, Mary Banks dives into a dark postpartum period, throwing her into a deep depression. Thinking that her sister, Rose, is offering her a helping hand, Mary leaves her family and goes to Boston in search of a medical cure, not to be heard from again.

1850: Beatrix Fawcett is just 18 when her father tells her she is to marry a stranger. Hesitant, but with little choice, she agrees to the match - with hope for a good husband in Charles and the surprising delight of a lovely Yorkshire house in which they are to live. As Beatrix sets to making the house a home, she falls in love with it and the countryside nearby. But she does not fall in love with her husband.... It's clear Charles has chosen her simply to meet the requirements of his inheritance and has little interest in his young wife.

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.

Chase Logan lives by no man’s leave, a solitary drifter who closed off his heart long ago - until the day he impulsively does a kindness for a beautiful young widow, and everything changes. For two years, Jessie Strong has dreamt of the day she could bring little Sarah home from the orphanage and call the child her own. But when her husband dies, Jessie fears the family she’s longed for is slipping away - until Chase Logan unexpectedly comes to her rescue. By pretending to be her husband, Chase can make all of her dreams come true.