Twice-widowed, Sumati Bala thought she had found the perfect spot to spend the rest of her life: a beautifully located cottage in need of updating just outside Berwick upon Tweed. She moved in and planned to run her small cookery school there but the house of her dreams soon turns into a nightmare as serious problems emerged, from asbestos to rising damp. With the house condemned, Sumati is forced to knock down the troubled cottage and try to build a new one in its place. As the bulldozers move in, she witnesses the bulk of her life savings pulled to the ground and with just £50,000 left, she has to start from scratch. Homeless, with no self-build experience or family nearby, Sumati is facing the monumental challenge alone.

Currently living in a shared house with friends, ambitious young couple Tom and Zoe are desperate to move into their first home together. Not wanting to settle for the uninspiring homes that their small budget would buy them in Cambridgeshire, they have bravely opted to buy a plot of land on a housing estate and build their own. Planning permission dictates a relatively conventional home on the outside but they have plans to make it spectacular on the inside.