Happily married to the Reverend Simon Norwood, with a small daughter and another baby on the way, Fiona Norwood's happiness should be complete. But Fiona has a secret in her past, and a part of her can never forget the baby girl she gave birth to when she was seventeen years old, the child she held for only a few moments before being forced to give her up for adoption. Meanwhile, Debbie Hargreaves has known ever since she was a little girl that she was adopted. Her parents, Vera and Stanley, are kind and loving and she has a happy home life. Despite that, once she reaches her teenage years, Debbie determines to find out about her birth mother and, if possible, to go and look for her. But is the past sometimes best left alone? Debbie's search will awaken powerful, long-buried emotions - and life for Debbie, Fiona, their friends and relatives will never be quite the same again.