The Story So Far

RACHEL WARMSLEY lives at Pedlars Down with her widowed father BEN, and younger brothers EDWARD and JONAS.

Before her death, Rachel’s mother MARIAH founded a Free School in the village for local children which her daughter now oversees. The school’s benefactor gifted the land for this purpose before he died, but his half-brother FRED LEACH says it should be his.

Jonas attends the school, despite being the oldest boy there and eager to make his own way in the world.

Orphans ELEANOR (Lenny), and her brother, FELIX, have come with their newly married sister MARJOREY to live with HARRIET, her new husband’s grandmother, who raised him after the death of his parents.

Rachel’s sweetheart HUGH ARMSTRONG’S family are leading cotton merchants in Liverpool. Hugh has travelled to America to visit their sister company in South Carolina run by his uncle HARRY, as he expects to one day take over.

Although distantly related, the Warmsleys and the Burfords don’t get on after a long-ago family feud. Jonas and Lenny, however, have become good friends, unbeknownst to either family . . .