Kate lives with her family on Brimbles Farm, where her father and brothers treat her no better than a servant. With no mother or sisters, and shunned by the locals, Kate longs for a friend of her own. Naomi is looked up to for owning the best house in the village.

But privately, she carries the hurts of childlessness, a husband who has little time for her and some deep-rooted insecurities. With war raging overseas, and difficulties to overcome at home, friendship is needed now more than ever. Can the war effort and a shared love of books bring these women - and the community of Churchwood - together?