The north & south of the title are the Satanic mills of the industrial north & the leisured life of London society & rural Hampshire. When her father leaves the Church Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the North of Engl&. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton Margaret becomes aware of the poverty & suffering of local mill workers & develops a passionate sense of social justice & a turbulent relationship with mill-owner John Thornton. North & South" depicts a young woman discovering herself in a nuanced portrayal of what divides people & what brings them together."