The war, with its horrifying, endless slaughter on the Western Front, is the backdrop to this story of the conflicting demands of duty, loyalty and love. Dolly Weston, her husband reported missing, falls in love with a wounded army officer. To complicate things further, a deserted emerges and unhealed wounds from a bitter past are reopened. And then there is 10-year-old Joshua, drawn into the world of three people whom he comes to admire and love, but who are destined to be driven cruelly apart.