In the 1920s, suffragist Edith fights to climb the ladder at Victoria's Daily Colonist, while trying to live the life of a free, modern woman in a society that isn't quite ready for it. In the 1910s, Edith sees the love of her life head off to fight a far-away war, while she struggles to find her way around Victorian attitudes, especially her mother's. Trying to build her future, Edith suddenly finds herself face-to-face with her past as long-hidden family secrets make their way out into the open. In alternating timelines, Tea at the Empress examines an era when the personal was undeniably political for women, in general and individually, as they worked to figure out how to bring a new and better world to life.