Devoted mother, foster mother and farmer, May Sheppard, can't stop taking on everyone else's problems. Life is hard eighteen months after VE Day. And then the worst winter of the century sets in. Struggling to cope, May is knocked sideways by a further threat to her world, but she is determined to resolve the problem alone. Her adopted son, Cliff, discovers his future could take a direction away from the farm, but the opportunity stirs old memories and jeopardises May's happiness. How many secrets can one woman keep? How many battles can she fight alone? If she loses, the family loses everything.