Nowhere in England avoids the loss of young men during the First World War and the village of Shallowford is no exception. Many never return and the lives of those who do are changed forever. Paul Craddock must rebuild the estate and the bonds broken between those who belong there. It is a time of huge social change and there are peacetime challenges as hard to surmount as those of war. And before they are met, Germany once again threatens the stability of Europe.