When Katie meets Paco, they fall in love. From this an extraordinary child is born; Ricky, who quickly develops into something wonderful and not so normal.
After her father dies, a young woman returns to her Yorkshire village for the first time in 15 years to claim the family farm she believes is hers.
James van Santen, a white South African writer facing imminent arrest for acts of sabotage, has escaped to England. He leaves behind him not only a violent political life but also his handsome lover, Stephen. With little money or inclination to work, he fights a battle of wills with his Jamaican landlady, Katherine.
