When her son Harry finds himself on the wrong side of the law protesting against Oswald Mosley, Robina Chase despairs, only slightly comforted in the knowledge he is soon to travel to Warsaw for a job as a translator.
After Harry's father died in the most tragic of circumstances, Robina was left to raise Harry alone. She has done so with the sole aim of making him a man of great social standing, but so far, Harry is proving only to disappoint. His love for two different women - both, in Robina's eyes, highly unsuitable - has far reaching consequences, and her frustration is exacerbated when Harry returns prematurely from Poland, following the Nazi invasion, with a Polish refugee in tow.
Robina - despite her will and better judgement - finds herself with a house guest she had never expected. Against the odds, the war is set to change this cold and austere woman, as much as it will Harry.
