Sussex, 1919. The Great War is over, but for Harriet Agnes McDougall its effects endure. Plagued by the need to understand how her middle son, Malcolm came to meet his death in the Belgian trenches, Harriet must embark on a voyage of discovery to retrace her son's movements. With peace now prevailing across Europe, her investigations lead her to Flanders, still scarred by the effects of the recent war. As she uncovers the circumstances surrounding Malcolm's death, she encounters various dispossessed young men, who are returned from war only to find that they seem no longer to have a place in this altered society; something which Harriet determines to address.