Set against the harsh backdrop of seventeenth-century Newfoundland, four women struggle to build their lives—but what happens when one woman’s freedom curtails the freedom of another?

As England is torn apart by civil war and the king is executed by anti-monarchists, English colonists on the other side of the Atlantic continue to live their day-to-day lives against the backdrop of a changing world. Lady Frances Hopkins, exiled from England because of her loyalty to the late king, tries to make a home for herself in the Newfoundland colony ruled by her brother-in-law, Sir David Kirke—but how long can he and his wife remain in power? Lady Frances’s maid, Hannah Peake, has tied her fortunes to those of her mistress by following her to Newfoundland, but Hannah’s freedom to forge her own path is challenged. Meanwhile, Hannah’s friend Meg, a fisherman’s wife, can’t see what difference it makes who sits on the throne in faraway England; all that matters to her is making a comfortable home and a good life for the family she hopes to have with her husband, Peter. However, when Patience Treworgy arrives unexpectedly in Newfoundland, will her choices make Meg’s dream impossible?

The fates of four women collide on the rocky shores of Newfoundland, when tumultuous events in England echo across the sea and into the lives of those striving for a better future.