In 1915 three women start work at a toffee factory in the market town of Chester-le-Street Durham. Anne works for the enigmatic owner Mr Jack. She is highly efficient and whips Mr Jack's disorganised office - and Mr Jack himself - into shape. However behind her business-like façade Anne hides a heart-breaking secret. Elsie is feisty fun and enjoys a good time. However her gadabout ways get her into trouble when she falls for the wrong man in the sugar-boiling room. And there's dependable Hetty who's set to marry her boyfriend when he returns from the war. But when Hetty is sent on an errand by the toffee factory boss her life changes in ways she could never imagine and a whole new world opens up. As the war rages on the toffee factory girls help each other cope through the difficult times ahead.
