Jack Parrish is killed in Korea, a meaningless death. His mother, a simple woman, begins a determined search for answers to her questions about why her son died. Her quest ripples into the lives of a number of people until one young man decides to stand up for a world without conscription. Pargeter (who also writes as Ellis Peters) has authored a profound book, looking at difficult questions within the play of ordinary lives, and comes up, in the end, with hope.