Whitby, 1845

Amber Ainsley works as a laundry maid for the wealthy Greenwood family, but when she falls pregnant with her employer's illegitimate child, she is cast out, left homeless and destitute.

She flees to Whitby, but Barnaby Greenwood follows, offering to find a family to raise their daughter, to save her being sent to the workhouse. Broken-hearted but wanting the best for her child, Amber hands her daughter over. Meanwhile, Barnaby's wife, Louisa, is overjoyed when she gives birth to twins - but the babies are weak, and she is terrified they won't survive.

Poverty-stricken, Amber soon has no choice but to return to work for the Greenwoods. There, one twin is flourishing while the other sickens. And when Amber notices a familiar birth mark on the infant girl's leg, her world is turned upside-down . . .

Will Amber ever be able to have the family life she hopes for?