Fifteen-year-old Issy and her newly single mother, Caroline Evans, are struggling to find their way alone, as well as together. At thirty-eight, with little money and all the responsibility for the two of them, Caroline is coming to terms with her new situation. When she decides to leave Singapore, home of her former well-off life (and her cheating husband), she ends up living in an English village pub, cooking dinners there to earn enough to get by, meeting unexpectedly quirky people, and making friends. But Issy still adores her father and secretly blames her mother for their change in life.

Just as Caroline's dream of converting an old barn into a restaurant finally begins to take shape, her chance at happiness is threatened and hangs in the balance as whispers of murder and vengeance find their way to her. When Issy, who is hovering in that limbo between girl and young woman, begins to make some risky choices, the stakes are raised even higher.