It is England in the 1840's, and 'Railway mania' is raging. Fortunes are being made - and lost. Unfortunately for Harriet Pearson, the intelligent 23 year old daughter of a retired schoolmaster, her father was one of the unlucky ones. He lost his savings in a failed railway scheme, suffered a stroke, and was confined to his bed for eight years. After his funeral Harriet travels to Yorkshire to stay with an old school friend, Lady Blanche Waldegrave. Here she meets one of the 'Moving Spirits of the Age,' Jack Dashwood, the railway millionaire who is seeking the hand of Blanche. She also meets Dan Brady, the Irish labourer who has left Ireland with his little girl to seek a living 'on the diggings'. This is their story.