Ever since she was eight years old, Katie Roberts has dreamed of getting away from the Cardiff slums where she lives. When her handsome but wicked father, Lewis, is imprisoned for theft Katie and her and her mother are left homeless and penniless. Life is hard for Katie - not only because of their poverty but also because of the stigma of her father's shame. When Lewis is released years later, it seems that life must improve. But to Katie's horror, it becomes worse than she has ever known it. When she and her father are left alone together, Katie seeks happiness and love elsewhere but, as she struggles to make a new life for herself, there is difficulty and danger at every turn.