When May Nicholls’s husband returns from the Second World War, it is to find that her affections, such as they were, have been poured into the upbringing of their young son, David. May, an English immigrant, is already a fish out of water in Claytown, a small central North Island community where everyone knows each other – and their business. Independent, ambitious, and unmoved by local opprobrium she forges her own – and her son’s path – until, in his twenties, David severs the bond and begins a new life in London.

More than two decades later, David’s daughter Chloe is forced to reassess her understanding of the father she never knew. In uncovering the long-hidden secrets of his and his mother’s lives, she must come to grips with the tenacity of inter-generational trauma, the unforeseen consequences of trying to forget, and the joy of shining light on the gaps and absences in the past, and discovering new connections.