Newcastle, 1890. An incident at a school outing brings together three very different girls and, over the years, they become close friends. Intelligent and ambitious, Ruth longs to go to university. Forced by her jealous stepmother to abandon her plans and get a job, Ruth refuses to give up on her dreams. Lucy comes from a loving and happy home, but her cosy world comes crashing down when her father dies and she finds out that he and her mother were never married and that he has made no provision for her in his will. Esther, who longs to escape her violent and drunken father, rushes into an equally abusive marriage, but when a drunken incident ends in her husband's death, she is forced to turn to Ruth and Lucy for help. Can their friendship survive the twists and turns of their changing fortunes, or will loyalty and love turn into jealousy and betrayal?