Catherine (Kitty) McMullen is 17, restless and rebellious. Resentful of her new step-father and yearning for stories of the father she never knew, her discontent grows when her aunt divulges he was a wealthy gentleman. Taking a job at the workhouse she is further confronted with the horrors of poverty and determines to escape it by educating herself. Soon steetwise Kitty is a ghost of the past and the well-spoken Catherine leaves the North East of England to follow her dreams. But hardship and heartbreak are not far behind, and there are battles to be fought and won for this plucky and romantic heroine.