It's winter 1942, and Helen, a young girl, stands on the deck of a ferry with her sister on the way from Ireland to England. It's a rough crossing, but Helen is sustained by the hope that this boat trip will take her away from her past and give her a future.What is it in Helen's past that she's so anxious to escape? Over the years, she will have many new beginnings - new jobs, new houses, new husbands! She journeys on through the strands of her life, always searching for happiness. But will she ever overcome the consequences of those fateful events which shaped her early life?