In November 1903, a new under-house parlour maid arrives for duty at 165 Eaton Place. Above stairs live the wealthy Bellamy family, Lady Marjorie and her husband Richard who is a Conservative member of Parliament. Below stairs live the other 'family', the various servants of the house including Mr. Hudson the butler, Mrs. Bridges the cook, Alfred the valet, Emily the scullery maid, Miss Roberts who is Mrs Bellamy's personal maid, Mr. Pierce the coachman and Rose, the parlour maid. The new arrival is Sarah, though she prefers to be called Clémence and to everyone's surprise, Mrs. Bellamy hires her on trial. Despite her protestations to the contrary Sarah has clearly never been in service before and it takes some time for her to adjust to her surroundings. She soon realizes however that she has around her the caring family she has never had. Written by garykmcd

Richard Bellamy decides he wants a portrait of his wife Marjorie and she engages Scone a somewhat Bohemian artist who has lived in Paris and eschews his rich family's background and status. When he asks for several of Lady Marjorie's dresses to be sent to his studio, he gets to meet the precocious Sarah who is immediately taken with him. He decides he wants to paint her as well and over the course of several weeks she spends her Wednesday evenings off with him, never quite seeing what he is putting on canvas. She regales him with tales of 165 Eaton Place and of her now good friend and roommate, Rose. The Bellamys are quite pleased with his painting of Lady Marjorie but are shocked at a public exhibition of his work to find that that he has displayed her portrait side-by-side with that of the two maids, now semi-clad. The resulting shock and disgrace - and the belief that Scone painted the portraits in their room - is such that Richard wants both Sarah and Rose fired. Written by garykmcd

It's August 1904 and with the the Bellamys away, the servants have the house to themselves. Hudson and Mrs Bridges are also absent and soon the rest, along with a few friends, begin drinking and partying. Rather than restrict themselves to below stairs, the party soon moves to the morning room and Sarah dons one of Lady Marjorie's evening gowns. They are all shocked however when the Bellamys eldest son James, a Lieutenant in the Life Guards, arrives unexpectedly. Rather than chuck them out or call the police, which is what most of them expect him to do, he embarrasses them further by playing along with their little game and serving them champagne until they are all quite drunk. Sarah however is as defiant as ever, standing up to him and managing to extract a promise from him not to tell his parents what has happened. She also makes a momentous decision about her own future. Written by garykmcd

It's May 1905 and Elizabeth Bellamy returns home after attending finishing school in Germany. At 17, she is attractive and has a keen mind with a variety of interests whether it be literature, art or politics. She is pleased that Rose is to be her personal maid but is not necessarily looking forward to attending an upcoming ball where she will 'come out' and be introduced to the King and Queen. Everyone at 165 Eaton Place is working to ensure that her grand evening is a memorable one but at the ball she is bored not only with the company but with the empty-headed girls around her. Refusing to act the part, she disappears just before she is to be presented. Written by garykmcd

It's December 1905 and the Bellamys receive an unexpected guest in the form of Baron Klaus von Rimmer who had met Elizabeth briefly while she was in Germany. He is charming and debonair and Elizabeth, who has just rejected a Scottish suitor, is slow to come around to him. Lady Marjorie is so enchanted by him that she invites him to be their guest for the remainder of his stay in London. He claims to be there to work in his family's bank but that doesn't fool Richard. The Baron eventually admits to being an arms dealer who wants to sell a new naval gun mount to the British. Richard realizes exactly what he's up to - especially after the Baron offers him a bribe. He manages to slip away but not before Rose sees him in bed with one of the servants. Written by garykmcd

It's now October 1906 and Lady Marjorie is away leaving Richard Bellamy home alone. He's working on a book but when he sees one of the new servants, Mary, crying he insists that she tell him what is wrong. She's only been at 165 Eaton Place for three months but prior to her arrival her former employer's son, Myles Radford, forced himself on her and she is now pregnant. Richard knows the Radfords and is shocked by what he hears, but when young Myles dismisses his request that he do the right thing, Richard foolishly writes a letter and is threatened with legal action. The family's solicitor, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, soon takes charge of the situation but the successful resolution of Richard's predicament will not be in Mary's favor. Written by garykmcd

Richard and Marjorie are quarreling over Richard's intention to support a portion of a Liberal education bill. She is convinced he will ruin his political career and give up any chance of being in Cabinet when the Tories are re-elected. She also feels he is being disloyal to her family to which Richard owes his career and current standing. As her relationship with her husband deteriorates Lady Marjorie makes the acquaintance of Captain Charles Hammond, a friend of her son James. Although much older than he, they have a great deal in common, including a love of the opera. Soon they are having a passionate affair and the servants are well aware of the situation. Richard only begins to realize what has happened when there is news of an accident at a regatta that James and Hammond were to attend. Written by garykmcd

Lady Marjorie and a few of her friends, including Lady Prudence, Lady Fairfax and the very rich South African Mrs. Van Groeben are planning a outing for their and others servants. Their idea is to rent an omnibus and take them out to a park or the country where they will benefit from the fresh air and sunshine. With Mrs. Van Groeben visiting regularly, scullery maid Emily makes the acquaintance of her handsome young footman, William. They start spending a considerable amount of time together and the hapless Emily, who spends as much time daydreaming as she does work, is hopelessly in love. She learns the hard way however that William's ambition - and Mrs. Van Groeben's interest in William - may outweigh her own wishes. On the day of the servants outing, tragedy strikes. Written by garykmcd

Hudson and other members of the staff are worried about Mrs. Bridges who has been acting very strange of late. The normally fastidious household cook has been sleeping in late and generally neglecting her duties. She has also taken to locking her door, something Lady Marjorie has expressly forbidden. It all begins to make sense somehow when they enter her room and find a young baby. It seems that Mrs. Hudson, in a fit of guilt and depression over Emily's suicide, simply took the child out of his pram and took him home. The Bellamys try to make it right with the parents but they insist on contacting the police with the result that Mrs. Bridges finds herself in the dock and facing a term of imprisonment should she be found guilty. Hudson appears as a witness on her behalf and saves the day. Written by garykmcd

Elizabeth Bellamy has been working with the poor in the East End and encourages James to accompany her to see what life is really like for many Londoners. He is genuinely shocked at the conditions he finds but is sent for a loop when he sees their former maid Sarah among the poor and the destitute. Sarah also recognizes him and soon finds herself back at 165 Eaton Place among her old friends. She's also up to her old games, this time telling everyone that in the few years she's been away, she learned that she had a gift and can now commune with the dead. The staff are soon holding séances but with Hudson and Mrs. Bridges away with the Bellamys on a outing to Scotland, Rose has been left in charge of the household staff. Hudson returns unexpectedly, however. Written by garykmcd

James Bellamy has a friend staying with him, Captain Axel Ryttsen of the Swedish Army, whom he met on an official liaison visit the previous year. Ryttson is a charming young man who also happens to be a very good card player. He's accompanied by his valet Torkel Kraft, who the Bellamy servants find to be very forward and someone who doesn't know his place. What none of them know is that is that Kraft has been stealing some of the Bellamys valuables, small art objects and the like, and selling them to a jeweler. Kraft is also having a bit of a fling with Sarah and he dupes her into selling one of the objects for him. Sarah doesn't realize that she is being set up to take the blame for all of the missing objects and soon finds herself being interrogated by the police. Nor does anyone realize Ryttson's role in the scheme. Written by garykmcd

Elizabeth has turned 21 and is beginning to seek her independence. She's made new friends, Bohemian types who debate their radical politics and spout poetry. Her main interest is the writer and poet Lawrence Kirbridge, a talented young man who also has a way with the ladies. She informs her parents that she will not be accompanying them on a weekend visit and subsequently invites her new set to tea at 165 Eaton Place. What was supposed to be a quiet occasion soon turns to a rather lively party with one of the guests dancing on a table. Unfortunately, Richard and Lady Marjorie return at that moment and brusquely ask everyone to leave. Mortified, Elizabeth accuses her parents of being rude to her guests. She decides the time has come to strike out on her own and moves in with her friend, Henrietta. Written by garykmcd

The Bellamys are in a panic over Elizabeth's disappearance. She hasn't been in touch since she's left but Hudson manages to track her down, courtesy of Rose who has known all along where she's been. Richard tries to convince her to return but without much success. He also checks into Lawrence Kirbridge and learns that he is from a good family and is a writer of some promise. They invite him for tea and decide they approve. To Elizabeth's shock and dismay, Lawrence proposes that they should marry, despite their supposed radical views against societal norms and conventions. James meanwhile also has a new friend, a chanteuse who has made quite a name for herself in the music halls of London. She turns out to be none other than Sarah, the Bellamys former maid. James' secret is soon out when she appears at the church on Elizabeth's wedding day. Written by garykmcd