1850. Beatrix is just 18 when her father tells her she is to marry a stranger. Upon meeting her future husband and seeing the marital home, Beatrix falls in love with the house in East Yorkshire and, with little choice, agrees to the match. But she does not fall in love with the man... Charles has chosen her simply to meet the requirements of his inheritance and has little interest in his young wife. Soon, the only spark in Beatrix's lonely life is her beloved children. But to leave her husband would be to leave them behind too... Powerless, Beatrix must find strength in desperate times. Can she fight against her circumstances and claim what is rightfully hers?