England in 1912 still bears itself with Edwardian confidence but strikes protests & public violence reveal the fault lines as society evolves under the spur of new ideas & technology. Among the many branches of the Morland family Jessie & violet childhood friends learn to cope with the surprises of marriage & motherhood & their different strata of society. Jack disappointed in love loses himself in designing aircraft & training airmen for the newly formed flying corps. & Anne exhausted by the Suffragette struggle seeks comfort in her friendship with an unconventional young woman. The Titanic tragedy shakes the confidence of a people used to conquering nature with engineering; & all the while the troubled nations of Europe edge closer to a war no-one wants but which seems inevitable.