When Londoner Chloe Marsh sees a poster advertising plots of land for sale for only five pounds, she decides to run away from her abusive husband, taking her two children with her. However he dream of a new start is not quite as as she anticipated with her and her girls having to make do with a tent as a home.
Harry Crowley, the man responsible for the Plotlands development, gives Chloe a job cleaning for him. Meanwhile, the Mulligans, Chloe's Irish next door neighbours, are definitely facing a trying time.
Tom, who lives on the edge of the Plotlands development and acts as a kind of a caretaker, has a secret from his past life during World War One revealed when a former comrade turned crook turns up.
While flighty Maude is falling for an idealistic new arrival at Langton Fields, a violent storm threatens to wipe out the community. Harriet goes missing, and Maude is the only person with a clue as to where she might be.
Crowley throws a party to celebrate the first anniversary of the first plot of land sold, but he has a secret agenda: he is planning to sell off Langton Field, making everyone homeless.
Chloe and her children are beginning to settle in and Chloe's relationship with Tom is progressing but then Chloe's husband John appears on the scene demanding his marital rights, thanks to Tom he soon learns the way things now stand and the whole Plotlands community rally round to help the Mulligans finish their house.