In the tiny village of Westerbank in the south west of Scotland, the 1960s are not about rock'n'roll and drugs; they're about survival, making a bare living out of a struggling farm or working for a pittance at whatever job comes along. Nonetheless in this close community friendships go deep and the pub of an evening is a cheery place, at least until too much drink is taken.

Fifteen years ago, Joe McBride left Westerbank under a cloud, and in his absence life has moved on, the secrets he took with him disturbing only occasionally those who were caught up in them. But now Joe McBride is coming home, a changed man, and one who needs to face up to the past before it's too late. The truth about the mysterious death of a young girl fifteen years ago is about to come out, and nothing in Westerbank will ever be quite the same again.