Newly-wed Harriet is poised on the threshold of the adult world. Her husband James is setting off to join the Duke of Wellington's troops in Spain and, left in London, Harriet is taken under the wing of the spirited Kitty, Lady Wellington. While Harriet plunges into her new life of freedom at home, James is left to face the bloody reality of the battlefield. As war rages abroad and England stands on the brink of change, Harriet and James face hope and heartache in equal measure, but can their love endure?