In London, 1771 - plain, sensible Tabitha Prewett is the only daughter of a tailor. Beautiful, delicate Mariette de St. Aubyn is the daughter of aristocratic French emigres, who move into Bloomsbury Square. Despite the differences in class and religion - the St. Aubyns are Catholics, the Prewetts Protestant - the two girls form a deep friendship that will sustain them throughout the many challenges and tragedies that life throws at them - and will survive even their shared love for the same man, Conor Townclear, an Irish baronet...