In the industrial heart of Victorian England – now Stoke-on-Trent – lonely Anna Tellwright is dominated by her miserly, bullying father and the strict Methodist community of Bursley. Inheriting a fortune does not free her from subjugation: every direction has an obstacle and Anna must choose between the ambitious Henry Mynors (duty) and the sensitive Willie Price (desire). Will she break free from society’s expectations or succumb to the life laid out for her?

Bennett’s vivid depiction of the Potteries brings to life a world of social pressures, moral dilemmas, and the struggle for personal freedom.