It is 1946 and the Temperleys and Chancellors have been neighbours for many years. Reserved and cool-headed, Marius Temperley has left the army and is struggling to fit into civilian life. His sister, Julia, quick-tempered, proud and passionate, has been running the family business since the death of her father. Both the Chancellor brothers, Jack and Will, are in love with her. As the years go by, family secrets are revealed, and the Temperleys and the Chancellors learn that passion can be both destructive and redemptive.