Devastated by the ending of her marriage, Grace has returned to her childhood home of Rowanmore in Scotland, where her father had been Vicar, in an effort to rebuild her life. Young Laurel Appleby, meanwhile, has arrived to take up the job of chef at the nearby Glen View Hotel, working for manager Calum McLeod. It's an exciting challenge, but Laurel's concerns for her parents - farmers in Yorkshire where the foot-and-mouth epidemic is raging - are a constant worry. Within a short time Grace and Laurel have become close friends, and their lives are interwoven in unexpected ways with those of the villagers of Rowanmore.