Sixteen-year-old Wllhelmina Nicholls has lived all her life in "the Cove", below the Cornish village of Penvarris, isolated from mainstream Cornish society. Now, however, new opportunities beckon in the shape of a position as companion to retired music-hall star Violet Gresham. Denzil Vargo and his mother are long-time residents of Penvarris, and have learned to adjust to life without Denzil's drunken bully of a father. Even better, Denzil is progressing nicely as clerk in a shipping company. When Stan Vargo returns unexpectedly, however, it becomes clear that their tiny cottage won't hold two grown men with very different outlooks on life. Mixing with strangers is frowned upon for both Denzil and Sprat, but they have managed to evade their family long enough to strike up a friendship. But a sixteen-year-old secret is about to shatter all their hopes and dreams.