1935. At 36, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as his unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and grasps this chance of a new start in Lancashire. The house is on the edge of a slum and in a state of disrepair. As kind people help her find her feet, however, her confidence grows and when she meets struggling, widowed father-of-three...