Description

The Lake District, 1908.  Livia, Ella and Maggie Angel appear to lead a privileged life in a large country estate, with seemingly little to disturb their happiness, but since the death of their mother, their family home has been far from a quiet haven for them. Their father, Josiah, runs a high-class department store and has aspirations to enter Parliament; he won’t let anything get in his way. He sees his daughters as bargaining chips and aims to marry them off to the highest bidder in order to further his fortune.  He successfully marries Ella off, but Livia, the eldest daughter, refuses to be dictated to and suffers bitterly as a consequence. Having found true love with a man from the poorest district in town, she is not going to give in to her father’s wishes quietly. The youngest sister, Maggie, is not so lucky, and her young life is blighted by her father’s actions.

When the sisters discover their father had an affair many years ago, which resulted in the birth of a baby girl, they determine to find their half-sister, and their search begins in the local work-house. Mercy, however, is not so sure she wants to be found…