In 1970, Emma Harte, a wealthy and powerful businesswoman, is about to turn 80. She has built a vast business empire, including Harte's Department Store in London and extensive holdings in property and oil. While on a business trip with her grandchild Paula, Emma learns that her two sons are plotting to take control of her business and cut out her grandchildren. Determined to protect her legacy, Emma changes her will, leaving everything to her grandchildren instead of her children. The story then flashes back to Emma's early life, where she was a teenager working as a servant at Fairley Hall in Yorkshire.
Emma started life as a maid in the home of Adam Fairley, the wealthy local mi...