A warm-hearted saga set in the North East - Lottie is just three years old when her mammy dies and she is sent to the workhouse. Just thirteen when a job is found for her looking after a miners family. And still a mere lass when she runs away. A childhood spent in poverty has left no opportunity for education. Yet when a kindly Methodist preacher offers adult literacy classes, Lottie seizes her chance and a new door opens.