Following a betrayal by an abusive stepfather, Ellen is taken, by her grandparents, to the house of a brick manufacturer in the Lancashire town of Horwich, to work as a kitchen maid. Determined for a better future, Ellen takes every opportunity to further herself and is promoted to lady's maid. But the advancement in her status attracts declarations of love from three very different men: John, the master's son; Charlie, a farmer's lad; and Leslie, her mistress's fiancee. Jealousy and betrayal plague her life once more and grasping hold of a better tomorrow is a dream beginning to slip away.