For Irene, working in Heyworth's department store in Cambridge is a dream come true. Once she steps inside the elegant building - surrounded by beautiful dresses, sumptuous fabrics and glamorous accessories - the hardships and struggles of her own life are temporarily forgotten. Heyworth's is a magical place, where Irene and her friends - in their smart, simple black dresses - serve the fashionable elite of Cambridge, and glimpse lives of style and ease far beyond anything they had ever imagined. It is also a place where hard work and talent are valued, and where these young women can forge a successful career.

Set against the backdrop of the closing years of the Second World War, and moving into the 1950s, The Shop Girls perfectly captures the camaraderie and friendship of four ambitious young women working together in a store that offered them an escape from the drudgery of their wartime childhoods. Each of the girls' stories will be individually published from July 2014 in fortnightly serialised ebooks, leading up to the release of the complete edition (with bonus material) in September.