Gossip, gossip, and more gossip! This BBC film adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's classic novel captures all the nuances of life in a small upper-class English town. It's a place ruled by social order, and plagued by women who sneer and connive behind closed doors. All it takes to set these ladies off is a small ripple in the social fabric; so when a handsome stranger enters their lives, he brings a world of trouble to their supposedly quiet universe. But are things in this uptight little neck of the woods about to change' How long can a place obsessed with tradition hold on to its perceived values as industry and modernity are creeping in all around them' Their world is about to get rocked not just by scandal and intrigue, but by a new train that is going to unite their cut-off society with the rest of England. Drama, romance, and dirty little secrets abound in this clever period piece.