The elderly Gidley sisters lead unassuming and unexciting lives in Blyth, Ontario in 1971. Tart-tongued Pearl and the more romantically-minded Edith live frugally, renting a room to the occasional boarder to help make ends meet. But the sisters' orderly life is turned upside-down when their neighbour George asks them to take in Charles, a young American Vietnam veteran.

The characters in this beautifully-written, bittersweet comedy gently draw out one another's stories: and along the way must come to terms with loyalty and betrayal, long-ago heartbreak, the consequences of sacrifice, and the power of music.