Christmas Eve 1909. When eleven-year-old Lily Larkin is left to fend for herself in an East London workhouse after her dying mother is taken to an infirmary her future looks bleak. Once she is separated from her twin brother Davy her childhood hopes seem to shatter. But Lily's fierce spirit - along with her new friends - help her to endure life at South Grove Workhouse and its cruel supervisor Miss Fox. When a gentleman shows up at the workhouse claiming to be her cousin and with an offer of employment Lily seizes her chance to escape. But her new job is far from perfect and her reunion with her brother isn't what she thought it would be. Still she relishes her freedom from the workhouse and is determined to embrace her new life - until a shocking secret from her past is uncovered.