Into the booming, gold-rush city of Shanghai fly Bill and Becca Holden with their small daughter Holly - a young family seeking their fortune far from their north London home.

When tragedy forces Becca to return to London with Holly, the iendship between a lonely family man, working night and day, and a neglected second wife grows into something more - something that threatens to destroy all their lives. And when Becca and Holly come back, it is time for all of them to learn something about the meaning of love and the bonds of family.