It is 1948, and the village of Hennaford is struggling to recover from the war – the Harvey family along with it.

Johnny Harvey is disillusioned; injured in the war and disturbed at the changing society; life seems to be passing him by. Jill Harvey, finally pregnant after four years of marriage, befriends sixteen-year-old Tess Viant, crippled with polio and abandoned by her family. Tess, left behind by society, might just prove her worth when something threatens the life of Jill’s unborn child…