Life changes drastically for the good-natured Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell) when her widowed father (Bill Paterson) decides to remarry, and a woman with her own set of rules (Francesca Annis) and a beautiful daughter (Keeley Hawes) becomes her stepmother. Award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones's Diary) penned the script to this four-episode BBC miniseries based on Elizabeth Gaskell's unfinished novel.