Charlotte is an only child, reared by a domineering father who cannot forgive her for not being the son he desires. Loved by most that she meets, Charlotte has a gift for friendship, and it is her work as a Sunday School teacher that gives her hope – and an escape from home.
When Charlotte meets Miles Thornton she is instantly drawn to him. He is new to the area and a widower, with three sons to look after, though the one thing he has longed for is a daughter. His youngest son, Georgie, only six, with golden hair and a bright smile, adores Charlotte while his middle son Ben is shy and quiet, but mature well beyond his twelve years. It is
Philip, the sixteen year old, who attracts the interest of Charlotte's father, who believes he has found at last the son he needs to take over his farm, but recognizes that first he must rid himself of the daughter he never wanted.
Sweeping from the early 1920s through to the turbulence of World War Two, Sons and Daughters is a compelling, traditional saga set against the Lincolnshire landscape that Margaret Dickinson portrays so well.