The slums of Poor House Lane are no place to bring up a child, and since the death of her husband, Kate has struggled to feed her beloved baby son, relying on hand-outs and charity. So when the wealthy, childless Tysons offer to adopt Callum, and employ Kate as his nursemaid, she feels compelled to accept. To be so close to her son, yet no longer be his mother, is bittersweet. But Kate is not prepared for the jealousy the new arrangement provokes in Eliot Tyson's brother, Charles, who sees Callum as a direct threat to his inheritance.