The Petrie family live on a small farm in Anglesey, North Wales. Grandfather Taid is a Revivalist preacher and his wife, Nain, is an Irish gypsy who casts spells to annoy her husband. Then there are the two aunts, one sworn off men forever and the other always ready for a lark. Next, the three uncles. One is married to a wife who doesn't quite fit in, another is fated to a marriage that will benefit the farm and the youngest must face up to a darker destiny, for the year is 1940 and this little corner of Great Britain is involved in a deadly struggle for survival. Whilst Taid has ordained that rationing will never catch on and eleven-year-old Nell is being prepared to start at the grammar school, the shadows of war creep closer. Comedy and heartbreak mingle in this compelling story of a most eccentric family.