David Power and Clare O'Brien both grew up dreaming of escape from the battered seaside town of Castlebay, but they might as well have had the ocean between them. David is the cherished son of a prosperous doctor, while Clare lives with her large family behind their faltering store, longing for a moment of quiet to study. When they both go to university in Dublin he as a matter of course, she on a hard-won scholarship their worlds collide. They find freedom in each other until the families, lovers, and secrets they left in Castlebay come back to haunt them.