Chrissie Reid, a young battered wife living on a small Orkney island in 1906 finally turns on her husband, Jack. After a particularly brutal attack, she is driven to offering him poison. With no memory of that night, she believes she has killed him, especially when she finds evidence of a body buried in the byre. In spite of her guilt at having taken another life, Chrissie eventually finds love again. Her strength, determination and love for her fellow islanders carry her through fourteen years of hardship, intercepted and exacerbated by the Great War. But the past won't stay hidden, and fourteen years after that fateful night, Chrissie is forced to confront the nightmare which has overshadowed her life. With the arrival of a letter, she discovers that nothing is as it seems. A series of events over which she has no control are set in motion. Lies and secrets are uncovered, leading to a dramatic and tragic climax.