In Scotland on the eve of World War Two, Tonia and her sister Lou grow up as thick as thieves in a world apart from their detached parents and other children. But when Lou runs off to get married at eighteen, Tonia is left alone, unsure of who she is and wants to be. She accepts an offer of marriage from a kind but older man, and is soon in London amid bombings and rationing, her life filled with purpose as never before. However, when tragedy strikes, Tonia must return to Scotland and attempt to refashion her life once more.