The contrasting lives of two sisters from the middle of the 19th century to the first decade of the 20th. The locations range from the Potteries town of Bursley to Paris as their stories unfold. An adaptation of the 1908 novel “The Old Wives' Tale” by Arnold Bennett.
Headstrong and proud, Sophia struggles against the wishes of her family while her sister Constance - quiet, but no less passionate - accepts a future in the family draper's shop. Then, when the Wakes Week festivities are at their height, Sophia's impetuous and romantic nature leads to tradegy.
Five years have passed since John Baines died. Sophia's guilt and Constance's dutiful nature have kept both sisters at work in the family draper's shop, but Mrs Baines finds her grip on the girls threatened when both make up their minds to marry.
The sisters have escaped from the domination of their mother, but find that marriage has its drawbacks. Constance must adjust to a new life in her old home, while in Paris Sophia is horrified by her husband's extravagance and selfishness.
While the Franco-Prussian War rages and Paris itself is besieged, Sophia is forced to fend for herself. The values of her upbringing in Bursley come to Sophia's aid as she begins a new way of life.
With the death of Mrs Baines , Constance misses her sister more than ever. Family life brings contentment at first, but then Constance's happiness is shattered by crimes in which her son Cyril and husband Samuel are involved.
After more than 30 years apart, a chance meeting brings Sophia and Constance face to face. Now in their 60s, the two sisters find it as hard as ever to agree, and their battle of wills resumes behind the draper's shop.
