In 1876 the slum dwellings of the East End are being replaced by the splendid dwellings of the rich. When Kelly's Yard is under threat, Rosie Bertram leads a campaign to stop the developers coming in. But then a woman is found murdered in Tobacco Dock and her close friend Albert is arrested, and Rosie has a more important mission - to discover the real killer before Albert is publically hanged in front of Newgate prison. Rosie tracks the killer, someone both she and Albert know all too well, and in doing so discovers horrific secrets and evidence too flimsy to stand up in court. She becomes so engrossed in her plight, she leaves the saving of Kelly's Yard to her poverty-stricken neighbours, who may be too weak to fight the powers that be...