An unrepentant murderer is condemned to death in Victorian England. Before the sentence is carried out, she persuades a minister to adopt her 1-year-old daughter in exchange for her repentance. He does despite dire warnings that her mother's murderous traits might be passed along to her. Unbeknownst to him, after his previously childless wife gives birth to a daughter, she tries to find a way to oust the cuckoo from her nest. Fortunately for the orphan, she dies before this can be accomplished, leaving her minister husband to raise both girls on his own. He does this with strict discipline, educational restrictions and a willful obfuscation of their ages and birthdays. When romance looms on the horizon there is betrayal, heartbreak and attempted murder.