Spitfire pilot Mark Brabham is sent to his uncle's Essex village on convalescent leave after being burned in the 1940 Battle of Britain. In such a village the war is both near and far, but occasionally intrudes upon rural life with devastating results. Mark's journey through his recuperation, his coming to terms with his condition and the new relationships he forms in the village are meant, by his family and friends, to prepare him for his return to the conflict in the sky above them. And he meets a charming Welsh land girl who is destined to play a greater part in the war than just working on a farm.