As the Edwardian era fades into WWI, Cyril Dunstan, a man with a mysterious past, accepts the post as vicar in a small country town of Wrynbury. His benefactor and only ally, Anne Gladwyn, repeatedly attempts to assist the reticent and surly vicar with the task of reviving the dilapidated village church against all odds. Anne hopes to find some purpose to her dull and unsatisfying life as well as solve the mystery of the vicar's history and demeanor. Their journals and accounts show the tenuous beginnings of a partnership that turns into a friendship then blossoms into a passionate emotional tie that could destroy all they have worked for. In a time when religious and social constructs would never allow the two to satisfy their desires, they must decide what to sacrifice in order to have happiness during the tumultuous early days of the 20th Century.