Ireland, 1950. Nina Hardy wakes in the big house where she grew up. Now aged fifty, she has returned to the fading beauty of her old home, and its unkempt gardens, its views of the wild Irish Sea, and its long-buried memories. With her childhood friend George, she is seeking peace from a turbulent world. But by the end of the day, a brutal crime will have been committed, which will alter their lives forever. As Nina tries to make sense of everything that has happened, a remarkable story unfolds; a story of a childhood, of extraordinary friendships, and of a war.