It is the late 60’s and Lily Grace has escaped the confines of the Scottish village where she grew up, and is now a student in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She loves her new independent life and hopes to stretch her wings even further by working on a cruise ship for the summer.

The only cloud on the horizon is the blunder she made with college lecturer, Gerard Renée, not realising he was a married man. She avoids him by taking a short trip to Ireland for a family funeral, then everything suddenly changes when she meets Dara Ryan, whose family run the local cinema.

They find they share similar tastes in music, films and books and Lily warms to Dara’s quick-witted humour. This leads to them spending every free minute of her trip together. .

In the guest-house where they stay in Offaly, Lily’s brother Declan is smitten by the striking, friendly Ava who looks after them, and his protective side comes to the fore when he discovers how she was abandoned at a convent as a baby.

When the time nears for the Graces to return to Scotland, Lily is reluctant to part from Dara and fears that the odds are stacked against a long-distance love affair. When her father, fuelled by drink and emotion after the funeral, makes a shocking confession, Lily wonders if she will ever see her parents’ marriage in the same light again.

Over the coming months, Lily and Dara manage to work out ways to see each other regularly in Scotland and Newcastle, and as their feelings grow stronger they decide they want to plan a future together. Then, a bombshell drops during a visit to Lily’s home when Ava involves the whole family in a crisis which throws serious doubt over Dara’s character.

Things become increasingly strained between the young couple and as the summer approaches, Lily begins to feel that it might be best to escape from her problems again.

This time she wonders if everything might seem clearer on a cruise ship under the starry Mediterranean skies, not realising that fate has a few more surprises in store.