In 1975 Lucinda Marsh throws herself in front of a speeding train leaving her twelve-year-old daughter, Kitty, alone, confused and abandoned -- save for a violent father, a selfish aunt and her childhood sweetheart, Harry Jenkins. When she is sent to an orphanage after the death of her father, Kitty meets Georgie, a lively cockney girl who, through the following difficult years, becomes her loyal friend. Convinced that her feelings for Harry will ruin the brilliant future that lies ahead of him, Kitty decides to turn her back on his love. Together with Georgie, she strives to find fulfilment in other places and other relationships, but when fate throws her back together with Harry, she begins to wonder if true love can ever die..