Life has taken Rebecca far from her humble start in a weaver's cottage in Kidderminster. But although she has found love and comfort with her husband, Francis, it has meant they are both banished from the town that raised them. Instead they must raise their family - and a new business in the bustle of the capital. But when a death finally draws them home to Worcestershire, they find the landscape unchanged, but the poverty increased. Amid the smoke of the factories and the clatter of machinery there is also the growing murmur of unrest as the workers search for a way to express their discontent. For Rebecca, Francis and their young family it means being torn between family duty and sympathy for the weavers' plight. And while they have a dream for the future, will it be strong enough to survive the turmoil ahead?