The Coles have lived in Middlemere for half a century. When, in 1942, they are threatened with eviction, they flee the house. But not before eight-year-old Romy, hiding in a cupboard, sees her father shot dead.

Years later Romy, now almost nineteen, is quick, clever and single-minded. She schemes to restore the family fortunes, to rescue her mother from drudgery and to protect her brother, Jem, a charming scoundrel who is always in trouble. Most of all, she longs to escape the poverty and narrowness of her surroundings. A chance meeting with Mirabel Plummer, owner of the exclusive London hotel, The Trelawney, is about to change Romy's life for ever...