Devon, 1954. The villagers of Burracombe pull together to help each other though the tough times but, this summer, it's time to celebrate love and new life. There are a few surprises to come, however, before anyone can walk up the aisle. It's been a long, hard winter in Burracombe. At Buracombe Barton, Hilary Napier is doing her best to care for her father and keep the estate ticking along, all the while longing for a man she cannot have. She welcomes the young Patsy Shillabeer onto her staff with open arms, but little does she realise that Patsy, flourishing away from her parents' watchful eye, is more headstrong than she first appears, and there's trouble brewing. Alice Tozer sees her youngest daughter off on the adventure of a lifetime, and welcomes her eldest son and his new wife back to the family farm. Brian brings with him new ideas and plans, and Alice watches with dismay as the whole family is thrown into turmoil. And all is not well in the village school, where a strict new teacher appears to be making the lives of the little ones a misery. To send her young son to join his siblings there seems to be Maggie Culliford's only option - she is expecting again, and she's not sure how she'll cope with yet another mouth to feed. And almost everyone is missing their beloved teacher Stella, still in hospital after the accident that nearly killed her.