Alice has a comfortable life with Noel, her husband, but when her mother, Jocelyn, becomes ill, Alice goes to look after her, taking her daughter and stepson with her. She is appalled by what she finds; her glorious childhood home is falling into decay. Noel thinks that Jocelyn should be moved into sheltered accommodation but the children love the freedom and beauty that they discover in Cornwall and Alice begins to wonder if the way of life she has chosen is right…