As the industrial revolution gathers pace, business should be booming for talented apothecary Amelia Boden. But her no-good husband has disappeared, and a disreputable chemist now owns the family shop. Vowing never again to trust her fate to a man, Amelia needs all her ingenuity and skill to avoid disaster and ruin. Yet as setbacks and problems mount, she might have to trust a man after all - a handsome one with troubles of his own.