Can Susan escape the dark shadows of her childhood...?

Born into the squalor of the notorious Ash-Pits, young Susan Lucket is determined to raise herself above the poverty of her childhood. Discovering she has a natural talent for nursing, she forges a new life for herself - and as an independent, unmarried midwife, she is a woman far ahead of her time.

But when Edward Calthorpe, youngest son of the privileged landowner , offers her marriage, the memory of her terrible childhood returns to haunt her. And when Edward's wayward brother seduces little Polly, her beloved younger sister - and then betrays her in the most brutal of ways - Susan faces losing everything she has struggled for.

Can she find the strength to fight for her right to happiness?