When Jamie Blair, twenty-four, unemployed, & back from the trenches, took lodgings at Larcom Street in Walworth, he had no idea he was walking into a trap. The house was owned by Henry Mullins, big, burly, & a hard drinker. Henry made life hell for his four stepchildren who looked half-starved & frequently got bashed. Seventeen-year-old Kitty was the one Jamie felt most sorry for. She took the brunt of Henry Mullins' bad temper whilst trying to protect her sisters & brother. When Mullins suddenly died
- in somewhat suspicious circumstances
- Kitty realised they could be in trouble. If she wasn't careful the authorities would take the younger children away
- split the family up. She wasn't having that, not after all they'd gone through, & nice, kind Jamie Blair was the one to save them. Too late Jamie found himself with a ready-made family & a stubborn & fiery young termagant called Kitty who was determined not to let him go.