set in the years leading up to and during World War I. Fourteen‑year‑old Opal is academically gifted and dreams of university—but her family’s world is turned upside-down when her father is imprisoned for forgery. Opal must leave school and work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory to support her family. There she faces bullying, but also gains new friends, discovers her talent for art, and becomes involved in the suffrage movement—meeting Mrs Pankhurst and experiencing her first love. The outbreak of war soon challenges her every belief and path in life.