In the East End of London at the turn of the twentieth century, life - and love - has never been less straightforward . . . Standing at the corner of Morning Lane on a Sunday lunchtime is a weekly ritual for sixteen-year-old Jane Flynn. With her parents ready to serve the Sunday roast, sending Jane to wait outside the pub is the only way her beloved brothers Shaun, Pat and Rory will finish their Guinness and return home.But when Rory sees Jane being harassed by local bully Barney Hobbs, it isn't long before the Lord's Day is interrupted with a flash of his Irish temper. Barney and Rory have a rivalry that goes back many years - a mutual hatred inflamed by the seductive Cathy Meadows, the girl who ended Rory's relationship with the poor but pretty Josie Guntrip and then broke his heart by leaving him for the better-off Barney.