Star D’Aplièse, in her late twenties, is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father – the elusive billionaire, named Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted by him from the four corners of the world. He has left each of them a clue to their true heritage, but Star – the most enigmatic of the sisters – is hesitant to step out of the safety of the close relationship she shares with her sister CeCe. In desperation, she decides to follow the first clue she has been left, which leads her to an antiquarian bookshop in London, and the start of a whole new world . . .

A hundred years earlier, headstrong and independent Flora MacNichol vows she will never marry. She is happy and secure in her home in the Lake District, living close to her idol, Beatrix Potter. But, when machinations outside of her control lead her to the London home of one of Edwardian society’s most notorious players, Flora is pulled between passionate love and duty to her family. But she finds herself a pawn in a game – the rules of which are only known to others – until a meeting with a mysterious gentleman unveils the answers that Flora has been searching for her whole life . . .