Fae Carter has been hiding all her life. First, her mother keeps her hidden away from the angry, violent man who owns their home. He calls Mama his favorite secret, but Fae knows he's not her father. Fae has to hide whenever he comes because he hates her so much that he hurts her if he finds her.

Mama sends Fae to go and live with her grandparents in the country. Fae doesn't understand why her mother doesn't want her anymore, but she does understand Grandma definitely does not want her - and never did.

Grandma tells her that nobody must ever see or find her. Grandma keeps Fae hidden upstairs and in the back garden, where Fae meets Ollie, a playful little boy who seems to be the only person in the whole world who doesn't want to hide her away. Fae’s time with Ollie is the sunshine in her life, and despite Grandma's harshness, Fae finds joy with him.

Until the terrible day comes when Fae's grandparents leave, and she's forced to make her way back into the city. Alone, lost, and scared, Fae has years of suffering ahead of her. Living on the streets of London, hiding from the frightening man in Mama's house, struggling as a parlormaid for a cruel, lustful master, Fae has to endure all of these things while her heart longs for the country...and the boy she once knew.

Unbeknownst to her, miles away, Ollie's heart longs just as strongly for the girl who nobody else believes exists. But he knows she's real. He knows he loves her. But what he doesn't know is whether she'll ever come back to him.