Ellie finds herself in hiding in a remote Scottish village called Hope Springs along with fellow ex-cons Hannah, Josie and Shoo after plans to start a new life in Barbados – courtesy of £3m stolen from her gangster husband – go awry. All the girls have to do is keep their heads down, assume new identities and plan an escape to their Barbados idyll... little do they know that Hope Springs is going to change their lives forever.
The generous John Jarndyce, struggling with his own past, and his two young wards Richard and Ada, are all caught up, like Lady Dedlock, in the infamous case of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce, which will make one of them rich beyond imagination if it can ever be brought to a conclusion. As Tulkinghorn digs deeper into Lady Dedlock's past, he unearths a secret that will change their lives forever, and which is almost as astounding as the final outcome of the Jarndyce case.