Journalist and television personality Lisa Wilkinson is on a deeply personal quest to unearth the truth about her maternal ancestors. Lisa's mother, Beryl, was born illegitimately, and right up until her recent death, had many unanswered questions about her identity. Lisa encounters her Irish three-times great-grandmother, Eliza O'Brien, whose complex, troubled life has uncanny parallels with her own mother's story. On her father's side, Lisa travels to colourful India, where she discovers her two-times great-grandmother, Ann Beech, whose life shifts from poverty to privilege and back again.