1913 On the eve of the First World War a little girl is found abandoned after a gruelling ocean voyage from England to Australia. All she can remember of the journey is that a mysterious woman she calls the Authoress had promised to look after her. But the Authoress has vanished without a trace. 1975 Now an old lady Nell travels to England to discover the truth about her parentage. Her quest leads her to Cornwall & to a beautiful estate called Blackhurst Manor which had been owned by the Mountrachet family. What has prompted Nell's journey after all these years? 2005 On Nell's death her granddaughter Cassandra comes into a surprise inheritance. Cliff Cottage in the grounds of Blackhurst Manor is notorious amongst the locals for the secrets it holds -- secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is at Cliff Cottage abandoned for years & in its forgotten garden that Cassandra will uncover the truth about the family & why the young Nell was abandoned all those decades before.