With all her signature warmth, wonderful characters and unforgettable drama, start this brand new chapter in the storytelling of Rosie Goodwin, Britain's best-loved saga author. 1850. When Opal Sharp finds herself and her younger siblings suddenly orphaned and destitute, she thinks things can get no worse.

But soon three of them - including Opal - are struck down with the illness that took their father, and her brother Charlie makes an impossible decision. Unable to afford a doctor, he knows the younger children will not survive. So, unbeknownst to Opal, Charlie takes their younger siblings to the workhouse. When she finds out, Opal is heartbroken, and things go from bad to worse when Charlie is accused of stealing and transported on a convict ship to Australia.

Homeless and alone, Opal doesn't know where to turn, but then she manages to secure a position as a lady's maid, working for the formidable but kind-hearted Mrs King. She thinks she has finally found some security in life, until she attracts the unwanted attention of her mistress's son . . . Desperately missing her family, Opal makes a promise to reunite them all one day. But will the Sharps ever find their way back to each other?