This is an enthralling saga set during the Second World War. Bristol, 1939. Feisty, hard-working Mary Anne Randall runs a pawnbroking business from the washhouse at the back of her terraced home. Determined to keep her three children fed and clothed, she puts up with a drunken and abusive husband, who has never forgiven her an earlier, tragic love affair. When Michael Maurice inherits a neighbouring Bristol pawnshop, Mary Anne's hackles are raised, and the two are at loggerheads. But as the war clouds gather over Europe, old passions are stirred and business rivalry is put aside. Mary Ann realises she must seize what may be a last chance at true love...