Whitby, 1879. Following the death of her parents in the Tay Bridge disaster, twenty-three-year-old Lena Carnforth expects to inherit at least half of her father's thriving shipping and merchant business. But, though leaving her comfortably off, her father leaves the entire business to his stepson, James. Instead of working, it's generally accepted that Lena will wed lifelong friend, Alistair, even though she has doubts about their relationship.
Then Lena meets the attractive shipping rival Peter Hustwick and sees him as the answer to all her prayers. She also now has the opportunity to...

Scarborough, 1938. When Jane and Nell are brought together by a chance encounter, Jane, unhappy at home, sees an opportunity to escape when Nell invites her to visit her family in Lowestoft. However, they have no idea that their friendship will be tested through the trials of love, hardship and war.
Nell's friends, Simon and Ewan, accept Jane as one of their own and welcome her into their world. But the threat of war soon brings changes for all four of them. Simon and his ship are involved in mine sweeping, Ewan joins the RAF and, feeling frustrated at their helplessness, Nell and Jane...

1858 - When a wheel breaks on 20-year-old Betsy Palmer's trap as she is crossing the North York Moors on her way to Rosedale with jewellery to sell to the ironstone miners, she is helped by Jim Fenwick, a supervisor on the mining project, and a special relationship between them develops.
In Newcastle, love is also blossoming between Robert Addison, son of a successful merchant, and Adele Jordan when Robert discovers something scandalous that he fears will ruin many people's lives. He changes his identity and disappears, but the Addison family believe that Adele is the cause and blame her,...

Whitby 1901. Sarah Brook has kept diaries for most of her life. Now eighty-five and at the end of her own journey, she allows her favourite great-niece Esther to read them. But while full of Sarah's thoughts and dreams, and family stories, the diaries also hold dark family secrets about the past, which are about to be exposed. . .
Whitby 1832. When their mother tragically dies, life changes dramatically for Sarah and her siblings. Arabella is ordered by their father to assume the domestic role - something she fears will destroy her hoped-for relationship with John Sharp, captain of her...

When Kate Swan's overbearing father demands that she obey him by marrying a man she despises, she refuses and is cast out of her comfortable home in Whitby. Fortunately, a kindly local widow is looking for a lady companion and, for the moment, Kate's future is assured. Meanwhile in Shetland, Malcolm McFadden, heir to the Garstan Estate, disagrees with his father's plan to clear the crofters from his land and turn it over to sheep. The fate of one crofter's daughter in particular greatly troubles him, and he proposes to defy convention by marrying Rowena Murray, but she hesitates, and Malcolm...

A story of seafaring men and the women who love them, by the author of "The Red Shawl." Captain David Fernley has made and lost a fortune in the whaling trade, fishing the frozen Arctic wastes from the Yorkshire port of Whitby. Then his erring wife and best friend die in an accident at sea.

When Sam Harland returns a World War I hero to St Robin's Bay on the Yorkshire coast, he brings with him a French wife. He hopes that she will be accepted by the villagers, but one person, Mary Lawson, can never forgive what she sees as the ultimate betrayal.

When Jean Lawson and Colin Harland fall in love, the match is opposed by both of their families because of a rift that began a generation ago. But as World War II casts a shadow over Britain and its people, Jean and Colin both strive towards their futures, as they volunteer to serve their country at war.

Struggling artist Richard is persuaded by his benefactor to leave his home town for the grand salons of London. He is encouraged to paint the beautiful Charlotte's portrait, and in doing so, the couple begin to fall in love. But Charlotte is married to an older man, who cares for her deeply. How can she reconcile her passion for Richard with her loyalty to her husband? In an attempt to forget her, Richard returns home to Whitby. But when unexpected events force the Lincolnshire countryside and the London art world to become entangled, Richard and Charlotte's worlds are forced to collide once...

A sweeping, epic love story set within the dramatic background of the second world war ...