In a village in Wiltshire, just off a busy road, Larch Tree Lane winds slowly up a low hill. Among the residents is Maggie Hatherall, full of life despite her advancing years, who worries what she is going to do with her 200-year-old home. Lucia Grey has escaped a bad marriage but her ex is reluctant to let her start a new life free of him. And for architect Corin Drayton, an unexpected inheritance is the start of a complicated family wrangle. From the cottages and farms to the local shop, pub and old manor house, the residents' lives are set to intertwine and relationships bloom.

Carrie Preston is used to hard work - oldest of 10, with an incompetent mother and a drunken father, she struggles to find food for her siblings. But nothing could have prepared her for the day fate deals her family the cruellest of hands, rendering them more desperate than ever. In a harsh world, small acts of kindness can bring great hope - Eli Beckett's offer of a job at the Dragon pub promises a better future for Carrie, especially as Eli's uncle has offered his nephew some spare land to build a music room.

Hampshire, 1900: With the sudden death of her father, the life of 15-year-old Harriet Benson changes forever. Forced from her home, Harriet is sent into service to provide for the family. Arriving at the grand Dalton House, she meets the owners' crippled son Joseph, with whom friendship soon blossoms. When circumstances force Joseph to leave the family home, Harriet is happy to accompany him. But Harriet is unprepared for her inheritance of Greyladies, a supposedly haunted house in the country.

Jo Melling has arrived in Birch End from Australia, still grieving her father's recent death. She's not intending to stay long, but after tracking down her distant family, Jo becomes more involved in village life than she could ever have imagined - and suddenly in danger too. Jo also finds herself drawn to Nick, a handsome newcomer to the village. Nick had planned to settle in Birch End and start a business, but as he grows closer to Jo, he realises he may have to choose between his dreams and a chance at love.

The first book in Anna Jacobs' wonderful Backshaw Moss series. 1935. At 36, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as an unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and grasps this chance of a new start in Lancashire. It is not going to be easy, though.

Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor. Home life is harsh, though, and desperate to escape it, she makes an ill-advised marriage. But she discovers that she's married a selfish and violent man. His beatings never seem to stop, and, with the help of some suffragettes, she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory - she is finally the independent woman she has always longed to be. But her husband, whose cruelty knows no bounds, tracks her down and drags her back home to more beatings than ever....

Childless Maeve Corrigan, though rich and successful, is dying of cancer. She wants to leave her business empire to one of the offspring of her two estranged brothers, Des and Leo. But which young relative should she choose? Des has four children, and he is overstretched financially. Leo is the unambitious owner of a hardware store in a remote Australian town and has two children.

Jessie Burton is lively and intelligent - she wants more than the respectable life in service her mother has planned for her. Times are changing; railways are being built across the land, bringing new freedom and possibilities. Jessie tastes that freedom when she meets an ambitious young navvy, newly arrived in Yorkshire. The attraction between them is overwhelming. And Jared Wilde is determined to make Jessie his wife.

Emmy Carter's mother is a prostitute - and her life has made Emmy determined to avoid the same fate. But Emmy is beautiful, so attracts unwanted attention; her mother's protector has his eye on her, as does evil Marcus Armistead, her employer's nephew. Marcus is excited by Emmy's virginity and has her kidnapped, but Emmy hits him over the head and escapes. Marcus, further enraged, kills her mother and becomes even more determined to rape Emmy, but the combined efforts of the local parson and Emmy's young suitor manage to keep her safe from harm.

In Australia, Simone has been widowed for four years and is ready to make a more interesting life. Her friends are driving her mad introducing her to eligible men; her busy daughters are just the opposite, wanting her available for babysitting. When she is offered a house swap with a couple in the UK she takes it, not without some trepidation. In the UK, Russ has just taken possession of his new house and wants only peace and quiet after a few months of rehab following a serious injury. Can these two help one another avoid meddling friends and relatives and build new lives?

In 1820, Salem Street is sparkling and new: eight small terraced houses built by a Lancashire mill owner for his best workers. Annie Gibson's family is one of the first to move in - a step up in the world for them. But when her mother dies, Annie's happy childhood ends and she is left to bring up her brother and sister. Red-haired, intelligent and startlingly pretty, Annie soon finds herself banished from home by a jealous stepmother. She finds work in the local doctor's household, where she learns about the fascinating world outside Salem Street.

Singapore in the 1860s is exotic and yet terrifying for a penniless Englishwoman, alone and vulnerable after her mother's death. Too pretty to obtain a governess' job, Isabella Saunders accepts an offer from Singapore merchant Mr Lee to teach him English and live with his family. Two years later Bram Deagan arrives in Singapore, determined to make his fortune as a trader. Mr Lee sees a way to expand his business connections and persuades Isabella to marry Bram. Bravely, she sets sail for a new land and life.

Janey is 18 and living in a small flat with her baby daughter. Just as her new life starts to show promise, her past catches up with her. Nicole is renting one of the new luxury flats. She’s just walked away from her husband and teenage sons, tired of being treated as a servant, suspecting her husband of having an affair. Winifred has lived in her large family home for over 80 years but it’s all getting too much, though she doesn’t want to leave. Things are not what they seem, and danger can strike both rich and poor.

Lancashire, 1930: Leah Turner's father has been killed in an accident at the laundry, and since her mother died years ago it falls to her to become sole provider for her little sister. But women's wages are half those of men, and pawning the few belongings she has left will keep their vicious rent collector at bay for only a few weeks, so even if she finds a job, they'll lose their home. Out of the blue, Charlie Willcox, the local pawnbroker, offers her a deal.

For Mattie Willit, caught in a thunderstorm running away from her bullying stepfather, rescue comes in the form of Jacob Kemble, a widowed farmer living with his two young children. She is escaping from an enforced marriage; he, struggling with the memory of a loveless one. As Jacob nurses Mattie back to health, the two come know and love each other. Meanwhile, wealthy and elderly Miss Emily Newington needs their help to save her from her greedy cousin who is plotting to take her house.