On the eve of World War I, on the quay of an Australian port, a little girl is found with a child’s suitcase in her hands. A mysterious woman—whom the girl knew as the “Writer”—put her on a ship that had arrived from England. The woman promised to take care of the girl, but vanished without a trace, and the ship set sail without her.
The girl, having forgotten her real name, finds refuge in a kind family, where she are started calling Nell.
On the day she comes of age, Nell’s father reveals a secret connected with her arrival in the family. And that completely changes Nell’s entire life. Many years later, she decides that she must, at all costs, uncover the mystery of her origins. But she still fails to learn the most important thing…
After Nell’s death, her granddaughter Cassandra receives an unexpected inheritance—a house in England. Cliff Cottage and its neglected garden hold many secrets that Cassandra will have to unravel in order to find the truth.