The Duchess of Duke Street plot
London at the beginning of the 20th century. A city of horse-drawn carriages, gaslight, great wealth and even greater poverty. A city full of opportunities for humble maid Louisa Leyton Trotter. She makes a glittering career in society circles, befriends nobility and royalty and even works her way up to become the owner of The Bentinck, London's most elegant and discreet hotel. But then World War I breaks out. The generosity with which Louisa treats the British soldiers leaving for the front causes her more trouble than she could have expected.