1898 - as the nineteenth century draws to a close, Morland Place, the ancient Yorkshire home of the Morland family, faces a happier future. Teddy Morland, master of the house, begins to restore the family seat to its former glory, while his sister Henrietta and her family fill the house with life. And when Henrietta's daughter Lizzie returns to give birth to her first child, it seems a symbol of renewal and hope.
But on the brink of a new century, the great stability of Victorian England is under threat. Europe is dividing into armed camps, leaving Britain isolated, while at home socialism and the suffragette movement challenge traditional values and hint at upheavals to come.
Then the most unthinkable change of all - the death of Queen Victoria - stuns the nation with grief. How will England face the challenges of the new century without the nation's 'mother'? What changes will the accession of the gambling, cigar-smoking, automobile-loving King Edward bring? The next generation of Morlands know they will have a whole new series of questions to face . . .
