Life is busy for District Nurse Isobel Ross. It's wartime, and her patients in the outlying Northumberland farms aren't always easy to reach. With her brother, Alan, away on flying missions most of the time she has plenty to keep her occupied.

The son of one of her patients, Jack Lewis, is back home after being shot down but is unable to come to terms with the loss of his leg and is overwhelmed by endless nightmares. But why does Isobel feel so responsible for his well-being? Could her brother's perilous airborne missions explain her interest in Jack—or is it more than that? And with Jack wallowing in self-pity, the last thing on his mind is Isobel.