The story is set in post-war Britain and follows Lewis Aldridge, a young boy struggling to cope with the loss of his mother. He is sent to live with his emotionally distant father, Gilbert, who remarries soon after, leaving Lewis to suppress his grief. Lewis finds solace in his friendship with the neighboring Carmichael girls, Tamsin and Kit, who are similarly controlled by their overbearing father, Dicky.
Having spent the Second World War with his adored mother Lizzie in their coun...