After a violent storm devastated the village of Eyemouth in October 1881, the villagers have slowly started to rebuild their lives. Inconsolable at the loss of her husband, Rosabelle Maltman has moved to London to start a new life, leaving her son behind. In Eyemouth Rosabelle's sister-in-law Jessie uses her own, very different talents to manipulate the menfolk of the village. But it is their mother-in-law Effie who is the lynchpin of the family, helping the villagers to look to the future.