Kate Flowers has spent all her young life by the banks of the Grand Canal in Ballygrace. Her dreams of becoming a nurse and leaving the quiet countryside of her home have been put aside to concentrate instead on looking after Mary, her widowed mother, as well as keeping an eye on her volatile brother, Brendan, who works on the barges. Kate's life seems set to be run by the rhythms of the canal. Her days are spent keeping house for the family, with occasional nights out dancing with her friends. But when Brendan introduces her to handsome young boatman, Michael O'Brien, a new life beckons. Life for the whole Flowers family is about to change - but in ways they could never have imagined, as both joy and tragedy are close at hand. Kate, Mary and Brendan must learn to look again at themselves - and each other - and find love and strength in the most unexpected of places for their family to bloom.