When the rich and imperious Edith Stewart orders her five sons to beat her son-in-law within an inch of his life, to punish him for his affair with Sadie Bell, the Bell family are left destitute. Without the money her lover provides, Sadie is forced to make a living on the streets. When tragedy strikes a double blow five years later, Sadie's daughter Connie finds herself alone in the world. But by the age of twenty Connie has a good job in Sunderland's best hotel and is determined to avoid her mother's fate. Then she catches the eye of Dan, Edith Stewart's youngest son. Despite the trouble his family has caused, Connie senses he is different and slowly lets him into her heart. But it is 1914 and Europe is on the brink of a huge conflict; and when Edith finds out about Connie's relationship with Dan, the effects could be as devastating as any war.