Two woman hold secrets which they have never shared; a mother, Elspeth, and daughter, Gina. The devastating incident in which they were both involved comes back to haunt them after decades of concealment. Elspeth, in her nineties suffering from dementia, is agitated, exposing the lies she guarded all her life; Gina is confused and angry at her behaviour.
The novel opens in the present day when Gina, finding her greenhouse damaged, vividly recalls the time when she found her grandfather lying dead in that greenhouse and her mother sitting on the floor, her arms bleeding.
The story then goes back to 1939 to follow Elspeth who, wanting to improve her life chances, meets and marries Kenneth. The marriage is a disaster as Kenneth is homosexual and is only too happy to be away in the Services during the War leaving his wife to live with his father, George. She and George become lovers and the child, Gina, is born of this union. Elspeth is terrified of the disgrace if this were known.
Gina is eleven when she witnesses that dreadful scene in the greenhouse. She tells no one even her childhood friend and confidante, Ivan. No one speaks to her of what happened, the death said to be caused by a heart attack, her mother’s injuries never explained.
Elspeth recovers and takes charge of George’s law firm, insisting that Gina joins her ‘to look after his legacy.’
Years later Kenneth, on his death bed, confesses to Gina that she is not his child and that he was implicated in his father’s death. Elspeth is forced to confirm Gina’s parentage but refuses to talk of Kenneth’s revelation, insisting, for fear of scandal, they stick to the status quo.
The story goes froward to Gina after her shock at the assault on the greenhouse. She is disturbed by Elspeth’s strange behaviour but due to their fractured relationship doesn’t know how to understand and bring closure to the rift.
Ivan having come to live near her, is baffled and upset by Gina’s uncharacteristic mood swings. She finally reveals the secret that has festered for so long untold which allows her to share her concern for her mother. Her attempts to force Elspeth to tell the truth of what frightens her and of what happened on that fateful day, are unsuccessful. In honour of her real father, Gina tries to make the rest of her mother’s life, despite her illness, happy and peaceful.