London, 1754. Six years after leaving her newborn, Clara, at London's Foundling Hospital, young Bess Bright returns to reclaim the illegitimate daughter she has never really known. Dreading the worst--that Clara has died in care--the last thing she expects to hear is that her daughter has already been reclaimed. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl, and why.Les than a mile from Bess's lodgings in a quiet town house, a wealthy widow barely ventures outside. When her close friend, an ambitious doctor at the Foundling Hospital, persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her young daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and will soon tear her carefully constructed world apart.Set against the vibrant backdrop of Georgian London, The Foundling explores families and secrets, class and power, and how the pull of motherhood cuts across them all.