Forced from her father's humble Norfolk vicarage, Ellen Gowan finds herself in an unforgiving London. At fifteen she falls for Raoul de Valentin, the dangerous descendant of French aristocrats. Raoul marries Ellen for her brilliance as a designer but abandons his wife when she becomes pregnant.

Determined that she and her daughter will survive, Ellen begins her long climb to success. Toiling first in an east-end factory, she finally opens her own salon in Berkeley Square. One single dress, a ball gown created for the enigmatic Countess of Hawksmoor, transforms Ellen's fortunes, and as the years pass, her business thrives.

She tells the world - and her daughter - she's a widow. But then Raoul de Valentin returns and threatens to destroy all that Ellen has achieved.