Set in 1913 Northumbria, Robert Bradley arrives home to find his father has died. At the funeral he meets his father's estranged brother who offers Robert a new home and place in his uncle's carpentry workshop. Robert is out walking late one night when he meets an ethereal young girl, Millie Thorman, whom the locals call the Moth, and befriends her. All seems to be going well for Robert until his cousin, Carrie, is revealed to be pregnant. Robert is immediately the suspected father.