After her mother's death Dora is sent to live with her father and his other family. But Dora is mixed race and illegitimate two facts that see her treated as little more than a servant by her stepmother and half siblings. This doesn't stop the son of the house abusing his position and Dora finds herself on the streets and pregnant…Sent to the local workhouse Dora's future looks bleak but she still dreams of a better life where she can help others as her late mother did with her herbal remedies. But can a girl from a workhouse ever achieve anything let alone become one of Florence Nightingale's nurses?

Part of the The Workhouse Series series.