Once a callboy, Haydn Powell returns to his native Pontypridd as the summer season's star. It is his dream come true, but it soon turns sour when he finds his family divided. Seeking consolation in the theatre's free-living society, he is nevertheless drawn to Jane Jones, the usherette. Influenced by a different world, burdened by bitter secrets and haunted by poverty, Jane is all too aware of the forces waiting in the wings, ready to destroy the life she has made. It is a time of personal drama and national crisis. For Haydn's brother Eddie, a champion boxer with a violent temper both in and out of the ring. For Jenny, Haydn's childhood sweetheart, who loves one brother but turns to another. And for the entire community, committed to another devastating war so soon after the first; a war which will change their lives forever.