1876. Life is happy for ten-year-old Rebecca Wheeler in the small fishing village of St. Leonard's Cove. Until one day a violent storm strikes and her father and older brothers are lost at sea.

Destitute, Rebecca and her mother Lydia make their way to Dartmouth. Lydia is relieved when a man named Mickey Fox seemingly takes pity on them and offers her work and lodgings… but is horrified to discover that the work is in a brothel, and there’s no way to back out now.

While conditions in the brothel are harsh, Rebecca and Lydia soon find a sort of family among the women who work there. But when things turn violent, it falls on Lydia’s new friends to devise a plan to help Rebecca escape…

Alone and hunted by Mickey, Rebecca must make her own way in the world. With her family gone, will she ever find a place she truly belongs?