Stepping into the world of country houses and nannies at the turn of the century, we follow the life of Violet Hesketh – from childhood, through two world wars, the roaring twenties, the depression, through years of social and political upheaval, to the fulfilment of her ambitions as a leading public figure and politician in the 1970s. As the lives of Violet, her daughter, her friends and lovers, interweave over 70 years, we see reflected in their ambitions and desires, their hopes and fears, the changing face of a nation.
