Even as a child Laura Redmond resents the way her father speaks to her mother. She is unable to understand that in spite of his heated outbursts John Redmond is a loyal and loving man. As Laura grows up her anxious, protective love for her mother, Anne, leads to a love/hate relationship between father and daughter. Many think that this is because they are so alike - both uncompromising, outspoken and headstrong. Only Laura's great-grandmother recognises the truth. It takes many years filled with triumph and tragedy for the family, and the arrival of a very special man in Laura's life, before she can see things clearly and really understand the person she becomes proud to call her father.