Above stairs . . . Lord Hoyland maintains his considerable fortune, and his estate at Netherwood Hall, with the profits from his three coal mines – and does his best to keep the heir to the Hoyland wealth, the charming but feckless Tobias, out of trouble, and to stop his daughter, the spirited Henrietta, from interfering too much in the family business.

Below stairs . . . Eve Williams, the wife of one of Lord Hoyland’s most stalwart employees, sees her ordered existence come crashing down by the twin arrivals of tragedy and charity. Eve must look to her own self-sufficiency, and talent, to provide for her three young children – and in so doing, ‘above stairs’ and ‘below stairs’ collide in truly dramatic fashion . . .