Tara Flynn, a village girl, befriends Madeleine, the unstable daughter of the wealthy Fitzgerald family. Redheaded Tara, beautiful and ambitious, soon attracts male interest...

Meanwhile her friend Biddy Harte, a kindhearted orphan fostered by the uncaring Lizzy Lawless, has fallen into another trap.

Soon heartbreaking events force the girls to leave their native Ballygrace and flee to England and Tara's hopes of romance with Gabriel are dashed.

The girls' new life in Stockport, near Manchester, brings romance for Biddy. But can she rely on his love when shameful secrets loom from the past to confront her?

And can Tara still hope to climb the ladder of success in her new career as an estate agent? Or is prosperous, handsome businessman Frank Kennedy the answer to both ambition and loneliness?