A young girl stands alone in the cobbled marketplace of a small Lincolnshire town, bedraggled and very afraid. People rush by, not one of them pausing to help her, until kindly farmer Eddie Appleyard takes the time to comfort the lost figure, discovering her name is Anna. In a moment of generosity, Eddie offers her a home, much to the displeasure of his formidable wife, Bertha. Anna's arrival will change their lives; Eddie's, Bertha's and even that of their young son, Tony, who is torn between his warring parents and the mysterious stranger. As the years go by, the secrets of Anna's past slowly unravel. All the while Bertha is biding her time and plotting her revenge, little realizing the tragedy her actions will unleash . . .