Helena Tregenza has a loving family, beauty, a gift for music and a lively intelligence - but no one would envy her. A childhood accident destroyed her sight, leaving her with little place in the Edwardian world, confined to the house, an embarrassment to many - particularly her vivacious, ambitious sister Lucy. Even sturdy Maisie, the household maid who longs, but cannot afford, to marry her carter beau, would not change places with "poor Miss Ellener". Impulsive Lucy, meanwhile, has long had a secret romance with her childhood sweetheart James. But, will she be swept of her feet by dashing, arrogant Simon Robinson? And what of Helena? Odd-looking but skilled eye-doctor Samuel Maskins takes an interest in her - but can she find a place in a world closed to a sightless girl? And how will humble Maisie fare, struggling in her far less privileged setting? All of them have hard choices to make - until the horrors of the First World War shatter their tranquil world...