Polly Perkins can hardly believe her luck when she is taken on as an under-housemaid at Swallowcliffe Hall. At first it's all Polly can do to keep up, with endless fires to be laid, carpets to be swept and beds to be made - never mind when guests arrive from London for a country house party. Will she ever feel at home in this grand old house, full of whispers and ghosts from the past?
But friendship and comfort are found in unexpected places and Polly slowly begins to find her feet - until a tragic secret leads her to question everything she's ever believed. Could the elegant life of Swallowcliffe Hall be nothing more than a glittering sham?