Life in 1920s Belfast is hard for the working class people, but the Mc Guigans are more fortunate than most. But when eldest son Johnnie shatters the family's peaceful existence with a shocking and unwelcome revelation, opinions become divided. And there are secrets in other quarters, too, when sister Louise discovers her boyfriend is hiding something - a secret so terrible it threatens their engagement. The once close-knit family is forced to make a series of painful decisions that will change all their lives for ever.