After nursing in the Spanish Civil War, Susan is relieved to set foot on English soil again. By her side is a beautiful, young Spanish woman, Chichu, who has lost her whole family in the fight against Franco and only kept her own life by fleeing. But adjusting to life in England isn't easy; Chichu's foreign temperament is often met with suspicion, and Susan, who discovers that a tragic love affair has left her pregnant, also faces hostility. In desperation they return to Susan's childhood home, a farm on the Durham fells - now run by a reclusive farmer. But their peace is short-lived as threat of the Second World War reaches the countryside and Chichu is interned. Unwillingly, Susan turns to Spanish War veteran Aaron Maichin for help, a man whom neither she nor Chichu ever trusted...