When Rachel Watkins gives birth to her daughter on Ash Wednesday in 1953, she prays the old saying won't be proved true. She's shed enough tears over her troubled marriage to Derek, and she hopes that Lorna will be the sunshine to light up their unhappy home. But Derek's overnight 'business trips' continue - until one day he announces he's never coming back, and Rachel and Lorna must get by without him. As the 1960s beckon, Rachel marries again, but Lorna resents her new dad and half-brother, and soon the rebellious teenager is anxious to spread her wings and leave the nest. But Rachel is worried about her daughter. Lorna's looking for love, but in all the wrong places, and there's a danger she'll miss the happiness waiting for her, closer to home.