She was born plain Dora, in a bleak northern town where her future seemed all too predictable. But from her earliest childhood she always went after what she wanted, and at the age of eighteen she wanted freedom and a new life - and a new name, Chloe. She moved to Brighton, to work as a mother’s help to a Member of Parliament and his wife, and she glimpsed for the first time a life of luxury and wealth - a life which, she believed, could be hers. But her new circumstances brought them difficulties which she could not have foretold, including the passionate interest of her boss and the unexpected bond which she discovered with the small children in whose charge she had been put.

Torn between the interest of an attractive older man and her feelings of affection and loyalty towards his wife and children, Chloe embarked upon a dangerous course.  Then a near tragedy changed everything for her, although it also brought a new love into her life and helped her to grow up and to appreciate what she had.