Chestnut Lane

Liverpool, 1939. As winter descends on Tuppenny Corner and rumours of war float across the canals, 15-year-old Rosie O’Leary must come to terms with her own dramatic upheaval. Forced to say good-bye to all she holds dear and embark on a new life aboard The Kingfisher, her world is suddenly full of uncertainty. But new beginnings open up new possibilities.... When fellow bargee Tim Bradley offers to show Rosie the sights of Liverpool, she jumps at the chance, and it’s not long before their friendship grows into something more. 

Janey is 18 and living in a small flat with her baby daughter. Just as her new life starts to show promise, her past catches up with her. Nicole is renting one of the new luxury flats. She’s just walked away from her husband and teenage sons, tired of being treated as a servant, suspecting her husband of having an affair. Winifred has lived in her large family home for over 80 years but it’s all getting too much, though she doesn’t want to leave. Things are not what they seem, and danger can strike both rich and poor.

Lancashire, 1930: Leah Turner's father has been killed in an accident at the laundry, and since her mother died years ago it falls to her to become sole provider for her little sister. But women's wages are half those of men, and pawning the few belongings she has left will keep their vicious rent collector at bay for only a few weeks, so even if she finds a job, they'll lose their home. Out of the blue, Charlie Willcox, the local pawnbroker, offers her a deal.

When a new feature on Pete Newbury's popular TV programme shows his adult image digitally transformed to that of a young child, Beth is shocked to realise he's her “baby” brother, who vanished without trace. Her mother, who has never recovered from the loss, desperately needs closure, but Pete makes it very clear he doesn't want to know his birth family.

Hampshire, 1900: With the sudden death of her father, the life of 15-year-old Harriet Benson changes forever. Forced from her home, Harriet is sent into service to provide for the family. Arriving at the grand Dalton House, she meets the owners' crippled son Joseph, with whom friendship soon blossoms. When circumstances force Joseph to leave the family home, Harriet is happy to accompany him. But Harriet is unprepared for her inheritance of Greyladies, a supposedly haunted house in the country.

Wiltshire in 1901: Kathleen's family are determined to force her into marriage with a violent man. In desperation she runs away and finds what consolation she can for her lost dreams. Then tragedy strikes, and Kathleen seeks refuge at Honeyfield House, where a charitable bequest has created a hiding place for families in trouble. Nathan fought in the Great War and is now using his gift for finding lost people as a detective. Taking on the job of finding Kathleen, he is shocked to discover a woman he can love, not the vicious female he was led to expect.

Molly Peel has been downtrodden for years, but everyone has their sticking point. At her daughter’s wedding she’s side-lined in favour of her ex-husband’s new wife. Her son, who lives with her, isn’t paying his share of expenses. It’s time to move on and make a better life for her. Molly leaves London, looking for a job, and finds more than she bargained for, including a new chance of love – if she can pluck up the courage to seize the moment.

Standing on London’s Victoria docks with the wind biting through her shawl, Rose Munday realises she’s been abandoned by her sweetheart. She had risked everything to get to London, but, stumbling through the pea-soup fog, she has nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Scared and alone, Rose steps straight into danger, only to be rescued by two women with even less to their names - a woman of the night and her young sidekick, Sparrow. With only a cluster of love letters to her name and all hope of her sweetheart’s return fading, Rose finds herself forging a new life with her unlikely companions.

Miranda Fox desperately wants to find the daughter her family took from her when she was young. A legacy from her late father at last promises independence and the opportunity to search for her daughter in England. But her domineering half-brother has been put in charge of her money, and he insists she continue to live quietly and cheaply in Australia. By chance Miranda meets Lou, who is dying from cancer but still living life to the full. He helps restore her self-confidence and she takes steps towards freedom.

When Emily Mattison falls victim to a near-fatal accident shortly after receiving an unexpected inheritance, her ruthless nephew George seizes the opportunity to take control of his aunt’s assets. Awaking from a coma to find herself locked up in a Geriatric Care Unit, Emily must rely on her wits and the help of her fellow patient Chad to escape. It’s only when Emily reaches the The Drover’s Hope, a former pub on the edge of the Lancashire moors, bequeathed to her by a cousin, that she begins to feel safe.

When Megan meets Ben Saunders, she's very attracted and he seems the same, but she didn't expect him to propose immediately. It'd be like marrying a stranger. Only, how can she refuse when they get on so well and he goes to Australia in a week? Can they make this sudden marriage work?

It is 1900, and Adeline Warburton and Arnold Haslington have fallen deeply in love. But though both are from wealthy families, their social status is too far apart for their families to approve of the match. And when Arnold marries another, Adeline’s reaction is immediate and altogether unexpected, as she travels to make a new life in China. But although they are separated by thousands of miles, the consequences of their youthful passion continue to haunt them and their children - Addy’s daughter, Nala, and Arnold’s son, Philip. As the years pass and the children grow, violent forces are set to bring them together, unaware of the secrets from the past that bind them.

Maureen Jackson knew life as a trainee nurse wouldn't be easy, but she didn't expect her hospital to be badly bombed on her first shift. Plus Maureen still has her family and friends in Mulberry Lane to keep her busy - she's needed as much there as she is by her patients. Running the pub on the corner of Mulberry Lane, Peggy Ashley is used to taking in all sorts of waifs and strays. But the arrival of a dashing American captain has got tongues wagging about Mulberry Lane's favourite landlady.... 

After the sudden and brutal breakdown of her marriage, Jenny finds herself alone for the first time in her life when she leaves the comfortable farmhouse with her four-year-old daughter. Taking refuge in a seaside town in North Wales, Jenny finds a room in a boarding house. It's difficult at first, but as she gets to know her fellow residents, she gradually begins to see that life has much more to offer than she could ever have dreamed.

As a longstanding fan of best-selling author Jivan Childering, aspiring young novelist Jessica Lord is dismayed on encountering the man himself to find him standoffish. But, some months later, many thousands of miles away in Western Australia, Jessica's path is destined to cross with Jivan's once more, and she begins to see a different side to this talented yet reserved and private man. For his part, Jivan finds himself increasingly drawn to the unpretentious Jessica and impressed by her single-minded determination to follow her dreams.