Railwayman Tom Swales with his wife and five daughters take the end cottage. With no room to spare in the loving Swales household, eldest daughter Mary accepts a position as housemaid to the nearby Stationmaster. There, she battles the daily grime from the passing trains - and the Stationmaster's brutal, lustful nature. In the end, it's a fight she cannot win. In shame and despair, Mary flees to York. But the pious couple who take her in know nothing of true Christian charity. They work Mary like a slave - despite her heavy pregnancy. While she finds sanctuary with the York Quakers, Mary's spirit is nearly broken. Can she find the strength to return home to her family? Will they accept her? And what of her first love, farmer's son Nathaniel? Mary hopes with all her heart that he will still be waiting...