The slums of Dublin are a lonely place for Katherine Donovan; her father is one of the most hated men in the district. Her only friend is eight-year-old Ceppi, also an emotional orphan. When Katherine's father is murdered in the unrest surrounding the docker's strike, she fears for her life and flees to Liverpool with Ceppi and her father's money. They both find refuge with the Moore family, until the eldest Moore boy's unnatural interest in Ceppi convinces Katherine that they must move on. Using the last of the money to rent a ramshackle lodging house, she discovers to her horror that one of her tenants is not the respectable salesman he claims to be. She is harbouring an murderer, abortionist and disgraced doctor, a man who is threatening her safety and that of the little girl she promised to protect...