Ruby Chadwick

Ruby Chadwick has only ever known life in London's hardscrabble East End.

She spends hours playing happily with her two brothers outside their father's pub.

But Ruby's world is turned upside down when a moment of disobedience results in a tragic accident, and she must learn to come to terms with the consequences.

When the Chadwick family's circumstances unexpectedly change they relocate to salubrious surroundings in respectable Brixton.

As Ruby comes of age, she dreams of a future that allows her independence and a chance to find love, though her stern father has other ideas.

Her fortunes change when she accepts a job as companion to a cantankerous old lady and crosses paths with a charming Irishman named Michael.

Yet before long Ruby must once more choose whether to defy her family and make her own choices - whatever the cost.