Margate, 1786: Dairymaid Molly Goodchild feels trapped by her circumstances. But she has a friend in apprentice gardener Charlie Drayson, and together they share a passion for flowers and herbs. Eager to better herself, Molly seizes the chance to work for her more affluent uncle. A friendship she strikes up with a young artist called Will Turner, drawn to Margate harbour to paint, fuels her aspirations towards a better kind of life. And when her dashing...

Glasgow, 1943. After becoming pregnant out of wedlock, only to find out her betrothed was already married, Kathy feared for her future. Her mother agreed to pass off baby Dennis as her own, treating Kathy as his older sister instead. Then a chance meeting with Alisdair, a handsome RAF airman, changes everything. They grow close quickly, but when Kathy believes Alisdair has discovered her secret, she runs away from heartbreak by joining the Auxiliary...

The South Wales village of Hen Carw Parc is a haven of rural peace. But times are changing and, although Nelly Luke and the older villagers stick resolutely to tradition, the younger ones have caught tantalising glimpses of a world beyond their quiet valley. For Fay Cartwright the lure of a career strains her marriage to home-loving Johnny, while Amy, the happy-go-lucky shopkeeper, is saddened when her son is given Army leave but fails to return to...