When twelve-year-old Ada Cooper's elder sister Connie goes mysteriously missing Ada and her younger brother Sam are forced to fend for themselves. Connie's job at the match factory was the only thing keeping the family together and when the rent man Mr Winterbourne threatens them with internment at the workhouse for non-payment Ada and Sam must flee. A coster mongering family come to their aid by providing Ada with a barrow of her own to sell fruit and veg by day and flowers outside the theatres by night. Will Ada and Sam ever reunite with their sister? And will they both be able to survive the savage streets?
