Step­ping onto the floor of Sunderland’s means step­ping into a whole new world for two young women whose lives will nev­er be the same again. 

After Lil­ly leaves her first hus­band, she takes a job at Sunderland’s Depart­ment Store. The Mec­ca of lux­u­ry in 1950s down­town Mon­tre­al, Sunderland’s is the place to be and Lil­ly can’t believe her luck. What Lil­ly finds at Sunderland’s is more than inde­pen­dence – she meets Vivian, a viva­cious, sharp-tongued whirl­wind woman – and they soon become best friends.

Vivian and Lil­ly face ups and downs togeth­er – sex­ism, anti­semitism, and the lim­its of their own ambi­tion. But when Vivian almost los­es every­thing she’s worked so hard for, and Lil­ly leaves the store to embark on a brand-new life, the pair will nev­er be the same again.