Men the world over find infertility shaming, particularly farmers whose business depends on fecundity and whose purpose is rooted in the future.
When Jock Wishart of Kilbaddy Farm returns from WW2 wounded and traumatised, fearing but ignoring his condition, his wife Kate nurses him back to health, drawing admiration and support from doubting Scottish neighbours. Another victim arrives, Bruno, a gifted but destitute and disfigured part-Jewish Polish refugee and Kate nurses both shattered men through frightening depressions towards rehabilitation.
Bruno's narration half a century later, in 1990, reveals the love both men have for Kate, the ensuing pain and joy and the vital support each needs from the other when Kate dies, leaving them with four year old Kathy to bring up between them. They are doting but unworldly fathers to the brilliant, lively child, who heads for New Zealand with an adored but unstable husband.
When their daughter Kit visits Scotland she becomes involved with a new,young Kilbaddy incumbent struggling to survive. Old Kilbaddy's last months are made touchingly dignified by her devotion as she jettisons her erratic wildness, reaching out for her grandmother's serene grace. Against the cadence of the seasons, to comfort him Kit must reach across forty years using only her own untutored instincts and Bruno's painful memories.