Following their father's death in a mining accident, sisters Eve, Mary and Nell journey to the Michaelmas fair at Gateshead to be put up for hire - it is that or face the workhouse. Eve, who has looked after her younger sisters since their mother's death, cannot bear the thought of them being separated so she is indebted to innkeeper, Caleb Travis, when he takes pity on her and agrees to hire them all. Over the years, Eve's gratitude towards him turns to love, but Caleb is blind to Eve's feelings as he is infatuated with Mary. It is to take many more years of heartache before he realises his mistake.