Dr. Robert Forrester spends most of his time as an on-call physician while moonlighting as a free healthcare provider to the lower classes of Manchester. And while he's plagued by memories of the Crimean War, he's managed to avoid letting them affect his work. Until unexpected events trigger increasingly debilitating episodes of flashbacks, forcing him to confront emotions long-buried or face being consumed by them. Johanna Milton doesn't know what she wants. With no husband or children, she's denied the one accepted role a woman can have in Victorian society. When a chance meeting brings Dr. Forrester into her path, she wonders if this is her chance for a different kind of life. After offering to help with patients, sparks fly as the two must learn to get along and perhaps overcome their personal demons.