Life has not been kind to young orphans Kate and Andrew Dunbar. Worked all day for no pay by her strict aunt and preyed on at night by her merciless uncle in Regency Edinburgh's South Bridge, Kate has little time to daydream about the future. If only they could get away from their relatives, but how is she going to manage that? Then one day Richard Hope walks into her life...An upper-class student studying medicine at Edinburgh University, Richard knows that he and Kate are at opposite ends of the social divide, but as soon as he laid his eyes upon her, he knew Kate was the girl for him. But Kate's scheming uncle is determined to twist the situation to his own advantage, willing to exploit his niece's feelings in order to blackmail her wealthy suitor. Can their fragile relationship survive the pressures of family and society's disapproval or will they be forced apart?