Europe is basking in the hot summer of 1939 when the first rumbles of an approaching war reach the Kernahan family in the quietness of Drumaninch (Drumnahinch), but it is the arrival of a beautiful stranger that threatens their own peace.

Angéle, a French actress, visits her cousins the Kernahans for the first time, stirring up unhappy memories. The youngsters take her for a picnic near the Cliffs of Moher.

Angéle's engagement has brought Tom and Martin to blows and turned Martin against his mother. Reluctantly Hannah agrees to let Angéle and Tom go direct to the bishop. (RTÉ Guide)