Since the untimely death of her husband, young mother Effie Grey has been forced to live on a narrowboat owned by her tyrannical, crippled father-in-law Jacob. In spite of her own despair, she is determined to protect her brother Tom and her baby son Georgie from Jacob's bullying ways - for she is all they have in the world. Effie and Tom see little of the pittance they are able to earn by trading along the River Lea, and with no other family to support them they have no choice but to put up with their increasingly difficult situation. When Jacob hires Salter and his wife to run the barge, Effie's life becomes even more unbearable, and Tom is sent packing without a penny to his name. Effie is allowed to stay and care for her son, but Jacob makes it plain that her position is less than that of a servant. Forced to live on deck with little to shelter her and Georgie from the elements, tormented by the villainous Salter and his vile wife, Sal, Effie is driven to desperation and she steals Jacob's hidden cache of money and escapes with her son. As she begins her frantic search for her beloved brother, Effie vows that whatever happens she will make a home for little Georgie and keep him safe from harm.