It is 1665 and teenager Hannah is filled with excitement about her first trip to London. She has lived all her life in a small village in the country and has always dreamed of getting the chance to go to the city.
London is where everything happens and Hannah is a young lady with high ambitions for herself. She likes fine clothes and the good life and she isn't going to find either of those stuck in the countryside.
Sarah, Hannah's eldest sister, owns a sweetmeats shop in London and her business is booming. Hannah can hardly believe her luck when Sarah writes to the family asking Hannah to come to London to help her in the shop. She packs her bags and gets a lift on a farmer's cart and is soon in London. But she is surprised at what she finds.
It is the height of summer and London is in the grip of a heatwave. The streets are piled high with rubbish and sewage and the smell is terrible. London is a rabbit-warren of dark and dirty alleyways. Where is the city that Hannah expected to find?
When Hannah arrives at Sarah's shop, she does not get the friendly welcome she was expecting. Sarah is horrified that Hannah did not get her second letter telling her to cancel her trip and stay well away from London. Sarah says a dreadful disease called the Plague is spreading though London killing hundreds of people every day. But now that Hannah has arrived, she will have to stay and take her chances.
Sarah's shop, The Sugared Plum, sells wonderful crystallised flowers and candied fruits to rich and fashionable customers and for a short while Hannah is intrigued as her sister teaches her how to make these delicious sweetmeats. But the terror of the Plague is creeping closer and closer and soon the sound of the death-carts can be heard in the neighbouring streets. Hannah is caught up in an appalling trap of disease and death.
