Sometimes, home is where the heartbreak is Ruby and Jim Searle run a guest house in Worthing, but the newlyweds have had a rocky start to their marriage. Their troubles are only set to get worse when Jim starts to unravel a dark secret from his past. The guest house is in high demand and Ruby is asked to take in two German schoolboys on a cultural exchange. She agrees, but when they arrive they seem more like grown men and their activities are far from innocent. The Germans' arrival is followed by that of two Jewish refugees and Ruby does as much as she can to help these young girls in her care. The country gears up for war and Ruby throws herself into war work as a distraction from her troubles at home. The revelations from Jim's childhood deepen, with devastating consequences. And as war is declared, Ruby's life is changed forever . . .