Newcastle, 1905. Nineteen-year-old Thea Richardson is intelligent, beautiful - and furious that her father has forbidden her to attend university. When Thea's best friend, Ellie, persuades her to enter a local Beauty Contest, Thea meets handsome Vernon Gray - a charming, successful photographer and a complete contrast to the men she has known until now. But as Thea becomes more interested in Vernon's work, she realises that he is not quite as respectable as she had once believed...