Any fulfilment of Maggie Smith's emotional attachment to Hugh Rivett seems always out of her reach. As well, her research year in London and Paris spirals out of her control when she becomes involved in a plot to restore a valuable manuscript to the British Library. Twenty years later, Maggie's relationship with Hugh Rivett is still unresolved. After his early retirement, Hugh's new occupation brings him into contact with a sexual abuser from his childhood. In search of respite, he visits his old friends Maggie and her brother James and becomes concerned with the fate of John Economou, an asylum seeker. Discovering the history of an ancient sword and casket brings Maggie and Hugh closer.