1800, Bristol.
Newly widowed Jessica faces destitution along with her teenage daughters until Captain Parnell offers her a role of landlady at his boarding house while he is away with the navy. Jessica's youngest daughter, Amelia, becomes a companion to the frivolous Mrs Webster and attracts the attention of two brothers, but as a penniless young woman is she more appealing as a mistress rather than a wife? Lydia, the eldest daughter, wishes...