Harriet's whirlwind romance and impetuous marriage to Godfrey disintegrates when Godfrey's former girlfriend, Amelia, arrives from Italy in 1873. Her husband is divorcing her and, destitute and hysterical, she has come in search of Godfrey, unaware that he has married Harriet. Amelia is determined to break up their marriage and makes no secret of the fact. When Godfrey leaves Harriet for Amelia, Harriet soon finds herself the object of other men's affections - possibilities which are cruelly blighted by the discovery that she is carrying Godfrey's child. Despite the difficulties of her private life, Harriet has a charitable but passionate interest in the local workhouse. After all, she can relate to Daisy Pritty, who gives birth but is having to take drastic measures to satisfy her former lover, Digger. The tragic parallels between the two women's lives do not end when Digger abandons her following a violent attack and Daisy's life hangs in the balance...