It is Swansea, in 1915. When Ruth's father Jacob, a fiercely religious zealot, forbids her from marrying her sweetheart, David Beale, the young couple are devastated. It seems that Jacob has promised his daughter to the village pastor, a dour and self-righteous man much older than her. Threatened with expulsion from the family, Ruth marries Edwin, against her will, and David - angry and heartbroken - joins the army. In 1918, David returns from the war and, shortly after, Ruth gives birth to a long-awaited son. In this tight-knit, strongly Methodist village community, neighbours gossip and tongues wag. When her jealous husband threatens baby Andrew's very life, Ruth knows she must do whatever it takes to protect her beloved child...