Three generations united by family yet torn by a secret held tight for generations. 1944, Italy RAF nurse Maggie Jones and Captain Jim Howard meet and marry in wartime Rome. A blissful whirlwind romance settles into a workaday life back in post-war England.1980, London Maggie and Jim's newly graduated daughter Vivien struggles in a dingy flat with her unplanned baby and distant difficult partner, wondering where her life is going.2010 Surrey Granddaughter Sarah arrives in the Surrey countryside, planning an idyllic upbringing for her boys. Instead she finds herself deeply and illicitly attracted to Finn, a troubled local teenager. And then there is Flavia the Italian girl, who connects them all.

Sarah has given up her career to raise her children in the countryside, while her husband works long hours in London. Alone, she explores the fields and the woods near her home and discovers an enchanting lake, a memorial bench for a boy who drowned in mysterious circumstances, and Finn, a beautiful troubled teenager who plays truant from school. As Sarah pieces the mystery together, an uncomfortable attraction between her and Finn builds, climaxing over one hot summer, threatening to destroy everything that she holds dear. Woven into Sarah's story are the voices of the older generation - Maggie, the RAF nurse and Flavia, the Italian girl. As their stories unfold, a secret is revealed, binding Sarah and Finn in a way that they would never guess.