It is 1892. Alice is turning eighteen. Her mother died in childbirth and her father is abroad in the military. She is brought up alone by servants in her deceased grandfathers Somerset house. Her father visits to inform her that she is to be sent abroad to start a new life and that she will never see him again. He leaves for London, but is followed by Tom the gardener who returns a week later to give Alice news that her father has a sordid secret. Alice disguises herself and sets out to find the truth. She discovers that her whole life is a lie Her journey of discovery leads her to find her fathers' secret family and that her mother she presumed dead may still be alive.