Londres, 1847. L'écrivain Charles Dickens et la baronne philanthrope Angela Burdett-Coutts accueillent un groupe de jeunes femmes dans une mystérieuse maison à l'abri des regards et qui fait scandale au sein de la haute société londonienne. Offrant un refuge aux prostituées, aux voleuses et aux plus démunies, le cottage Urania est une seconde chance dans leur vie – mais toutes les femmes perdues ne veulent pas être sauvées.

1847, Shepherds Bush. Charles Dickens' home for fallen women is about to open its doors. Part refuge, part reformatory, the house and its location are top secret, and Martha Gelder and Josephine Nash among its first inmates. But faced with the chance to redeem themselves, how badly do they want it? Across town, in her Piccadilly mansion, Dickens' friend, the millionaire Angela Burdett Coutts, receives news that turns her orderly world upside down. Her stalker has been freed from prison, and she knows it's only a matter of time before their nightmarish game resumes once more.