Will Rising had dragged himself from humble beginnings to his own small tailoring business in Gloucester - and on the way he'd fallen in love with Florence, refined, delicate, who wants something better for her children. All the Rising family accept that May is their mother's favorite - she has inherited Mama's beauty and sweet temper. March, the eldest girl, feels herself to be the least loved, the plain, unattractive one who, as the family grows, becomes more and more the household drudge. But March, a strange, intelligent, unhappy child, has inherited some of her mother's dreams. She is determined to break out of the round of poverty and hard work, to find wealth, love, and happiness.