When Emma Grady finds herself orphaned one fateful night in 1860, she is left at the mercy of her devious aunt and cruel uncle Caleb Crowther. A feared Lancashire Justice, Caleb Crowther is a womanizer and a gambler, and now the inheritance due Emma is as much in his hands as is the beautiful girl herself. But Caleb lives in fear of the past, for how did Emma's mother mysteriously die? And what is the reason behind the family's hatred for the river...