This ten-part adaptation of Flora Thompson's classic novel tells the story of two Oxfordshire communities at the end of the 19th century. The birth of a new baby brings financial hardship to the Timmins household, obliging eldest daughter Laura (Olivia Hallinan) to leave her home in the quiet hamlet of Lark Rise and embark on a new life in the busy, neighbouring market town of Candleford. Her adventurous cousin, postmistress Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha), takes Laura under her wing, and they soon become firm friends, experiencing together the romances, rivalries and comedies of close-knit rural life.