Can the past ever remain completely hidden? How big a part does serendipity play? Or is it just that there are invisible threads that link the past with the present? Georgie Jameson discovers an old biscuit tin under the floorboards of her new London home, which contains a diary spanning the years between the two world wars. It is written by an unnamed single mother and tells of her struggle to feed and clothe her two small children and her determination that neither she, nor they will, end up in the Workhouse. Journalist Sam Armstrong is on a quest to discover the truth about his late grandfather, a revered Shakespearean actor and his mother's reluctance to talk about her father. What is the connection between Georgie and Sam? The story ducks and dives between decades and continents until the truth is finally revealed.