A modern love story opens the door to a long-ago love and a shared history...

When Celia Robertson, a financially independent young black woman living in London in 1880, comes to live in her adopted family's London townhouse for the season, she falls in love with her childhood friend, Edward Langdon, a white man from a wealthy family.

Despite their affection, they keep their relationship a secret from Ed's grandmother, Lady Benwick, who is also Celia's guardian. Ed believes love can overcome anything. However, despite Celia's comfortable middle-class upbringing, she is doubtful and procrastinates over accepting his secret marriage proposal, only to uncover a darker truth.

Fate soon intervenes when old flame Nathan, the son of a wealthy Sierra Leone merchant, returns to London from New York, stirring up dormant feelings. Meanwhile, deeply disturbing moral and financial predicaments are hidden from Celia to protect Ed's family's aristocratic legacy. Little do the couple realise the intricate web of manipulation Lady Benwick is weaving behind the scenes...