Glasgow, 1924. Sandy McLean is training to be what his father always wanted to become - a surgeon. But Sandy doesn't share his father's interest in medicine: his real passion is for painting. And when he meets a friend in his local pub, he spies a second reason to become an artist: Sophie, the stunning French girl who models for the local art school.
When Sandy rescues Sophie from the advances of a drunk after a dance, he hopes it may be the start of something special. But Sophie, who has just left one relationship, isn't ready to begin another. Nevertheless a friendship is formed, one whose bond is strengthened when Sophie offers to pose for his work . . .
Sandy isn't the only McLean whose life is on the cusp of change: Laura, his doting younger sister, is in her last year of school and readying for her life; Harriet, his mother, has growing concerns about her marriage. And in the midst of all this arrives Harriet's sister Cakey from Canada, whose wealth and wisdom might just be enough to help them find the happiness they crave . . .
