The series is set in the small Oxfordshire hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighboring market town of Candleford towards the end of the 19th century. The series chronicles the daily lives of farmworkers, craftsmen, and gentry, observing the characters in loving, boisterous, and competing communities of families, rivals, friends, and neighbors.

The story is seen through the eyes of a young girl, Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan), as she leaves Lark Rise to start a new life under the wing of her mother's (Claudie Blakley) cousin, the independent and effervescent Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha), who is Post Mistress at the local Post Office in Candleford.

Through these two characters, viewers experience the force of friendship as Laura and Dorcas see each other through the best and worst of times. Brendan Coyle plays her father Robert Timmins. Also starring Linda Bassett, Ruby Bentall, and Richard Harrington. Seasons 1-4.