Orphaned as a child and the product of a mixed marriage, eighteen-year-old Lorna Cunningham has been brought up by her wealthy grandmother, who neither loves nor likes her. When she meets the sensitive and intelligent Edwin Randall she is delighted to have finally found companionship and shares his passion to do something to improve the terrible conditions in the Newcastle slums. However, their deepening friendship is overshadowed by her infatuation with the handsome but unscrupulous Maurice Haldane, who is engaged to her cousin Rose. When her grandmother dies, a family secret is revealed that will change Lorna's life forever, but will she be able to break free of the past and see where her true happiness lies?