When news of the death of her ex-husband reaches Binnie, it seems that her tranquil life in the West Country has come to an end. In his Will he had left her an island in the beautiful archipelago off the coast of Cornwall where he had spent his childhood, and Binnie has to take her family to the island — revisiting it for the first time in years — and work out what to do.

Leaving behind the mysterious stranger who had turned up in the village only the day before, Binnie arrives on the island, and takes possession of the dilapidated house which she has not seen for so many years. As she becomes involved in the life of the island and its inhabitants, she has to embark upon a whole new life and discovers many things about her husband and her past that will change everything.