At last she will be free from him, even though she and Nuala, the sister who depends on her for everything, must now leave his miners cottage. Then Kate discovers they have an aunt in the Midlands whom their father had kept secret, and who now offers them a home. Despite leaving her heart in Durham with Matthew, a young artist, Kate feels loved and safe with Aunt Beth. But her peace is shattered by an astonishing revelation from Nuala, and a series of brutal attacks on the women of Nuneaton. Kate turns to a handsome widower, Martin Denby, but is his kindness too good to be true?

    Nine-year-old Millie Ash and her family live a tough and frugal life in Rotherhithe. Millie is determined from a young age to better herself and when her aunt gets her a job as a scullery maid for the Green family in London, she believes her luck is changing. She soon becomes friends with the Green children, Lewis and Joan. Joan is paralysed and confined to the house, and the girls become very close. But years later a tragic accident changes everything and Millie loses her job and is disowned by her family. Lewis stands by her, but when he leaves for the battlefields of France, Millie realises she must make her own luck if she is to have any chance of happiness...

    She finds them jobs and becomes a manufacturer herself, but there are many more obstacles the brave young girl must face before she can find true happiness.

    . . Evie spent her early years left outside on the step. With a drunk for a father and a neglectful mother, all little Evie has ever craved is a safe home and a normal existence. Her young eyes had seen so much but this never tainted her spirit. If it wasn't for her best friend Gary, and friendly dog called Whisky - Evie might never have made it to the sixteenth birthday.At sixteen she meets Ken, a sweet brown-eyed boy, not much older than she is. Perhaps her fortunes have changed? But no sooner does she give over her heart, she is betrayed, not for the first time in her young life... Will Evie ever find the love and warmth she's always craved?

    The precious few days she spends with her new husband are quickly forgotten once she starts work as a balloon operator, trained for the heavy work in order to release more men to fight. There she makes friends with shy Emily Bevan, who has left her parents' hill farm in Wales for the first time; down-to-earth Biddy Bachelor, fresh from the horrors of the Liverpool bombing, and spirited Jo Stewart, the rebel among them, whose disregard for authority looks set to land them all in trouble. The girls stay friends through good times and bad, through romantic encounters and, ultimately, tragedy.

    Thrown into the workhouse by the cousin to whom her desperate soldier father entrusted her, she emerges determined to make the most of what life has to offer, however little that might be.But the narrow confines of the workhouse have left Hannah ill-prepared for the hurly-burly of the Liverpool household in which she finds work. Naive and impetuous, when she loses the man she loves she rushes into a violent marriage from which there seems no escape - without terrible consequences...

    Her father Tom, crippled in the fighting during WWI, has been left a broken and bitter man; her elder brother Vinnie is in serious trouble with the local hard man; her two younger sisters are in danger of being taken into care, and her sweetheart Danny is heading for Australia to seek his fortune. Determined to keep her family together, yet unable to escape the poverty and degradation of the slums, the heartbroken Lizzie is tricked into marriage by Danny's unscrupulous brother, Frank. Will she ever find the strength to protect her family from the underworld thugs who monopolise the Isle of Dogs? Can she escape her increasingly unhappy and violent marriage? And will she ever be reunited with her one true love, Danny Flowers?

    Hollinthwaite, however, has other ideas and when he forces the two to part Rob is sent away to school while Alena must start work in the local bobbin mill. Life is hard and her love for Rob severely tested. Torn between two men, her indecision is heightened by the knowledge of a tragic secret. Dolly Sutton has problems of a more intimate nature, while shy and unassuming, Sandra Myers finds herself an unlikely campaigner against Hollinthwaite’s destructive plans for the village when he ruthlessly sacks the man she loves.

    Caring for her siblings and working long hours at Swift's Jam Factory in London’s Bermondsey is exhausting. Thankfully her lifelong friendship with Dot helps to smooth over life’s rough edges.When Elsie and Dot meet Millie Swift, they are nervous to be in the presence of the bosses’ daughter. Over time, they are surprised to feel so drawn to her, but should two East End girls be socializing in such circles?When disaster strikes, it binds the women in ways they could never imagine. Long-held secrets are revealed that could change all their lives...

    A powerful and absorbing saga, moving from Sunderland to London in the 1940s, as Sarah Brown dreams of a better life.

    Following her mother’s death she is guided to Horstberg in search of answers and contentment. When her path repeatedly crosses with the brooding Stefan Heinrich, she is drawn to him by feelings too profound to ignore. The love they share is intense and undeniable, but Ericha’s ignorance of Stefan’s circumstances puts her on a scale in his life opposite to the country he rules, and the wife he loathes.While Stefan questions daily what kind of madness drove him to marry the deceptive and tawdry Johanna Von Bindorf, a princess from the neighboring country of Kohenswald, he is torn between his commitment to do what is right, and his love for a woman that he cannot have; a woman who fills his aching soul. Years of spiraling downward in hopelessness finally drive him to make Ericha a part of his life as far as it is possible, while deep inside he knows that eventually a price for his happiness will have to be paid.As Ericha develops a deep bond with the legendary Abbi du Woernig, she unknowingly breathes life back into the heart and soul of Horstberg. But happiness and peace for the entire family are fleeting and fragile. Both Stefan and Ericha quickly realize the price for their choices is higher than either of them ever could have imagined. When Horstberg’s freedom is bargained for with the life of its ruler, Stefan knows that he must sacrifice everything to once again prove himself worthy to serve the people of his country with dignity and to live his life with the woman he loves.

    Her lovely singing voice and good looks lead her to her great ambition - to go on the stage and see her name top of the bill. She becomes a music hall star both in her native town and in the south, after an appearance in the theatre at Brighton - she even performs in Paris, to tremendous acclaim. But when her first love, an ambitious shoemaker in her home town, becomes engaged to someone else Poppy is devastated. She disappears, believing that she will never return to her life of stardom. But her fame cannot be kep a secret...

    Jerusha believes she has finally found the security she has always craved. But then disaster strikes.Kent, 1904.Two years after the sudden death of her husband, Jerusha is alone once again. But the arrival of the enigmatic Joe Finch, a traveller seeking work on the farm and a home for his daughter, sets Jerusha's life on a new path, giving her hope for her future.Has Jerusha found her happy ending at last, or will she be forever destined to lose the ones she loves?

    Marion is forced to pawn all her worldly possessions and decides to take in two lodgers, Peggy Wagstaffe and Violet Clooney. These two lively girls bring some light relief to the family and bring with them Peggy's handsome brother Sam – who catches the eye of Marion's sixteen-year-old daughter, Sarah.1944 and the war grinds on. Disaster strikes with an explosion at the local munitions factory, leaving Sarah badly disfigured. Then news arrives that Sam has been blinded in action. Can these two injured souls help each other to repair not only their physical but emotional scars? And will Bill return to the safety of family and home?

    When the legitimacy of her twin babies with Edgar is called into question, the tiny infants are taken from Beth and sent far away. James is adopted by Edgar's uncle, the very wealthy Lord Redfern, master of Redfern Abbey. But little Daisy is sent to a cold-hearted childless couple who raise her to be a maid rather than a daughter. When Daisy, at 16, finally escapes her hard life with her adoptive brother Boyd, they arrive at the Abbey to seek work and refuge. Little does Daisy know that her flesh and blood is the next in line to be Lord of the Abbey. There is a strange connection between Daisy and James, something they can neither explain nor ignore. But will the truth be discovered in time?