When Anna discovers her father's plans to marry her off to an old widower for financial gain, she determines to escape. Her mother is sympathetic and secretly helps her to flee Holland and she elopes with her childhood sweetheart Jan, to England. They go to Colchester, the hub of the thriving cloth trade, where there is a substantial Dutch immigrant community. However, settling in is not as easy as the young lovers had imagined. There is a great deal of animosity between the English and the Dutch community, and riots often break out. On the advice of the local church minister, Jan takes up poorly paid work as a dyer, in very poor conditions. Anna seems to have fared better at first, as she is offered a place in the minister's house, keeping house and looking after his pregnant wife. But she soon realises the true motives behind Minister Archer's generosity when he tries to assault her. Anna runs away from his house and vows never to return. When she tells Jan, he is horrified, but with no money and nowhere to live, their future is far from certain...