When Nell Sely moves from sleepy Dorset to Hampstead

She leaves behind a childhood of dull teas and oppressive rules for the freedom of the big city. Naive and only nineteen, she becomes embroiled with the wayward John Gaunt and falls in with London's bohemian crowd.

In this city of seductive, shifting morals

Smoke-filled jazz-clubs and glamorous espresso bars, Nell must master her newfound independence and learn to strike her own course.