PROLOGUE

When she arrives with her parents in Milton after her father takes a job there, Margaret Hale, with the prospect of adapting to a new life ahead of her, catches sight of a man in the street that looks like a "perfect stranger". However, on an errand to speak to the family's landlord, Margaret finds this romantic image shattered when she finds that her perfect stranger is not so perfect after all. For John Thornton, both the Hales' landlord and proprietor of the Milton Hotel, this first encounter with Margaret has an equally profound impact when she catches him arguing with his brother-in-law. He knows that he must try and rectify her bad opinion of him - but first she has to agree to talk to him.