The Lennox Family Saga

Eighteen years after being cast out by her father for falling pregnant, Kirsty Lennox returns to Paisley determined to lay the ghosts of the past to rest. Kirsty's husband Matt takes over the cabinetmaking business running it with the help of their two eldest sons. When a tragic accident befalls the family one snowy February day, it casts a pall over Kirsty's marriage and family life. Rivalry between the men in the family and Matt's chronic illness place further strains on the family, and then Kirsty's ability to earn an income is almost destroyed by an act of spite.

After the death of her husband, Kirsty Lennox remarries and rebuilds her life, watching her children find success. But the arrival of four-year-old Rowena Lennox, Kirsty's granddaughter by marriage, throws the family's plans for the future into disarray. Conflict flies when Rose Hamilton, one of Kirsty's partners in a second-hand clothing store, buys the mill her son Alex had his eye on, destroying their friendship. When Britain declares war on Germany in 1914 and the men begin to enlist, it's down to the women to carry on in their absence.

Rose MacDowall is hopeful that her husband Alex can overcome his post-war night terrors and return to full health so she can concentrate on her thriving dress-designing business. When the McCarts, an Irish family arrive in Paisley they are offered a warm welcome, employment and support, but dark secrets threaten to destroy the new lives they're trying to build. As Alex's father's health fails, Fiona steps in to help run the family furniture emporium but Rose is unsettled by Fiona's ambitions and wary of her motives.