The second volume in the Gibson saga brings us the harrowing tale of one woman's rise through England's unforgiving social elite. In 1845 Annie Gibson can at last leave behind her the desperate times of Salem Street. She has dreamed of opening an elegant dressmaking salon on the High Street. And she is going to take her father and his second family with her, away from poverty, away from the Rows. But Annie has not escaped from trouble. Someone is trying to undermine her business. Her family has its own ideas about what to do with their lives. And as a beautiful young widow, Annie cannot help but attract a line of suitors, some better for her than others.