Lizzie Burton is an orphan of mysterious origins. She has been a housemaid at Portland House for as long as she can remember.
Deborah Hammond is also an orphan from the workhouse and, like Lizzie, has been in service since childhood. All the girls have is each other so when Lizzie gets pregnant and is dismissed, Deborah goes with her.
Sadie Trent is the kindly seamstress who takes them in and finds them work with the exclusive dressmaker she works for.
However there is more to the dressmaker's business than meets the eye and as the tragedy of Lizzie's life unfolds Deborah finds herself drawn into a dangerous underworld. Can there ever be a happy ending for a child of sin?