Welcome to Cranford, where everyone knows one another and a cow wears pajamas.

It's a community built on friendship and kindness, where women hold court and most of the houses - and men - are rarely seen.

Two colourful spinster sisters at the heart of Cranford, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah Jenkyns, are daughters of the former rector, and when they're not playing cards or drinking tea, they're feeding an endless appetite for scandal and weathering commotions to their peaceful lives, from financial troubles to thieves to an unexpected face from the past.