This is a typical "happy ever after" story, much as you could expect from Catherine Cookson. It is set in the 1910s and is ultimately about a lad played by the hunky Jack Devenport and his family who adopt him through family troubles. The lad becomes a man and is made an outcast by his adopted uncle for getting his cousin pregnant. He then goes to find work as a labourer in a estate house and he becomes embroiled with all the family troubles there too. He meets the excellent Juliet Aubrey and takes quite a shine to her. But fate plays the hand of friendship throughout a turbulent family history of the household middle class et al.
This film is quite a long one at over 2 hours however, it is very thrilling and will keep you ridged throughout the entire performance. This is a great adaptation of the book and my only criticism is that perhaps the continuity is not so good. Still Jack and Juliet make such a wonderful and enchanting romance from the start.