Audrey Wakefield, the eldest daughter of the local vicar, is known for her beauty and intelligence. Life in her small town is simple and carefree. However, when her father dies of consumption, her family is plunged into chaos as their lives are uprooted.
Henry Ryland is a lawyer by trade, as well as a board guardian for the local workhouse in Norwich. Though Audrey has no experience, Henry agrees to allow her to join the workhouse as the schoolmistress on a trial basis. He’s immediately drawn to the spirited, beautiful young woman and her strength.
Audrey soon learns that nothing is what it seems at the Bowthorpe Road Workhouse. When she stumbles upon a mysterious diary left behind by a deceased inmate, she and Henry begin to piece together the mysteries inside it.
As Audrey and Henry grow closer to one another and the chemistry between them intensifies, time slowly ticks away to see if they can discover the dark truth hidden inside the workhouse before they are silenced forever.