Covered with bruises, Maddie Brown can only think about getting as far away as possible from Barking and her violent husband. Richmond, at the other end of the District Line, seems as good a place to go as any. It's a hot bank holiday in 1960 and Maddie, clutching her five-year-old daughter, follows the Richmond crowds swarming towards the river where a vibrant fairground is in full swing. The noise and fun do little to soothe her pain but an encounter with a fairground owner's daughter is to change her life for ever. Janice is a kind, warm-hearted single mother who, seeing their distress, determines to help them.

Before long, Maddie is working for the Fenners, revelling in the spirit of the fairground. But an ugly past, when it is left unresolved, has a habit of catching up with the present and Maddie eventually realises that she must fight like never before to keep hold of all that she loves...