Ernie Blackman is a Coach driver just before the turn of the Century in the late 1800's. Kathryn Higgins is in service.They meet and fall in love struggling to develop a relationship. With the influx of trains, Ernie takes a position in a Hotel, and Kathryn in a Match Factory where the workers go on strike. Ernie is accused of theft by John Osborne who's past includes being born in a London workhouse, before running away to India where he learns the tea business. He marries the daughter of an Indian Plantation owner, returning to England as a respected businessman. His past threatens his prestige in London. Diamonds stolen from India, surface in England, resulting in a court case, involving his English fiancee. Also a young Indian woman who returns to claim her rights