Cornwall 1936. Judith Dunbar finally plans to visit her virtually stranger father, who works in in Singapore shipping company. and finally sends for her kid sister Jess and their mother. With boring aunt Louise as guardian, Judith enters St. Ursula, a stuffy boarding school, bullied by seniors, but she befriends wild heiress Loveday Carey-Lewis, who invites her for the holiday to the family's palatial estate Nancherrow, on the coast, complete with a private stable, hosted by loving aunt/grandmother Lavinia and Loveday's elegant parents, socialite Diana and Colonel Edgar, who all treat Judith like a daughter, along Loveday's radiant sister Athena and dashing brother Edward, Judith's instant crush. Aunt Louise's inheritance proves a lavish fortune, rendering Judith settled for life. Finding Edward never intended a lasting match, she dumps him and leaves Nancherrow while he joins the war, returning as a blind ex RAf pilot, but now she proposes to him.