A wartime marriage, an illicit love affair, and secrets surrounding a suspicious death have impacted the lives of two women, Elspeth and her daughter, Gina. Elspeth, once an ambitious and determined woman, confuses and angers Gina, who herself has been haunted all her life by an incident about which she was never told the truth. The years of deception and denial rolling back.

Why might we have sympathy for Elspeth as she holds secrets, tells lies? How can her daughter resolve her need for the truth and her antagonism towards her mother?