Nell is a young girl living with her grandfather, Mr Trent, the owner of a shop in London. As he couldn't payback a loan he made, he has to flee with Nell. They decide to search for Nell's mother, who is living somewhere in Great Britain...

Sasurai no Shoujo Nell is based on The Old Curiosity Shop, a novel by Charles Dickens. Many of the plot points were altered and the overall tone of the series is notably more positive. It was the last show of the Kirin Meikyoku Roman Gekijou programming block dedicated to stories taking place in foreign countries, and the only one to feature 26 episodes instead of 13.