In 1968, Beth learns during breakfast that Gabriel Wolfe has returned to live at Meadowlands, his family estate, following his divorce. Gabriel, now a literary celebrity, and his young son have come from the United States, where Gabriel has lived for many years. Beth’s husband, Frank Johnson, expresses disdain for Gabriel, declaring that they’ll have nothing to do with him, while Beth is surprised that Gabriel would return to a place he once hated.

Frank and his younger brother, Jimmy, go out to work on their farm while Beth stays behind. Instead of doing housework, she finds herself staring across their fields toward Meadowlands, its distinctive red chimneys visible in the distance.

In 1955, 16-year-old Beth Kennedy accidentally bumps into 17-year-old Gabriel while she is wandering on what turns out to be his family’s private land at Meadowlands. Their initial interaction is tense, with Gabriel acting arrogantly before softening when Beth points out that they’re alone in the middle of nowhere.

After they introduce themselves, Gabriel invites Beth to see where he was fishing at the nearby lake. Despite her initial reluctance, Beth agrees to accompany him when he offers her custard cream biscuits. This chance encounter marks the beginning of their relationship.

In 1968, Beth reflects on how spring was always her son Bobby’s favorite season. He loved feeding the orphaned lambs on their farm and was particular about wearing shorts year-round despite the cold. Now, Beth joins Frank and Jimmy in their sheep field, where Jimmy is listening to the Beatles on his transistor radio.

Their peaceful morning is disrupted when a lurcher dog (a crossbreed of greyhound and herding dog or terrier) charges into their field and attacks their lambs. Frank tries to block the dog but fails, and Jimmy retrieves a gun from the shed. After Frank pulls Beth to safety, Jimmy shoots the dog. A young boy—revealed to be Leo, Gabriel’s 10-year-old son—runs up, distraught about his dead pet. He is followed by Gabriel himself, creating an uncomfortable reunion between Beth and Gabriel.

The narrative jumps forward to 1969. Beth watches anxiously as a man she loves (later revealed to be Frank) sits in the dock at the Old Bailey (the central court of England and Wales), accused of murder. She studies the jury members, hoping that they might be sympathetic, particularly the women, whom her sister suggested might be more compassionate.

The courtroom is imposing, with its high ceiling, wood-paneled walls, and red-robed judge. Journalists and spectators fill the press bench and gallery, where Beth sits with her sister, Eleanor. She reflects on how different it feels to be personally connected to someone on trial rather than following such events from a distance. She notices that the accused man refuses to look at her, his clenched jaw the only sign of his distress.

In 1955, Beth arrives at the lake on Gabriel’s estate, where he has set up a picnic with tea and a tartan thermos. She notices an old khaki tent across the lake, which Gabriel explains is where he camps in the summer. As they talk, Gabriel reveals his discomfort at home with his quiet, scholarly father and his intrusive mother, who is addicted to alcohol, while Beth shares details about her own close-knit family. When he walks her home, he confesses that he already likes her more than anyone he’s ever met, leaving Beth feeling elated and wondering if this feeling is love.

In 1968, Beth drives Gabriel, Leo, and the dead dog back to Meadowlands in her Land Rover. She observes how surreal it feels to see Gabriel as a normal father, rather than the literary celebrity she’s read about. At Meadowlands, Beth offers to help bury the dog when Leo asks her to stay.

As they dig a grave by the lake, Beth tells Leo about her own son, who died at age nine. The boy compassionately holds Beth’s hand when he sees her sadness. Gabriel observes their interaction and asks if he and Beth could be friends despite their complicated past. Beth agrees to this, shaking his hand across the dog’s grave in a gesture reminiscent of their first meeting.

In 1955, Beth meets Gabriel for an evening together at the lake. He has created a romantic setting with candles in jam jars, a table set with wine glasses and roses, and a fire burning nearby. As they talk, Beth shares more about her Irish father, who feels displaced in England, and her mother, who is a native of Dorset.

Gabriel mentions his acceptance to Oxford University, prompting Beth to feel momentarily indignant about his privilege. He encourages her to apply to Oxford too, suggesting St Anne’s College. As evening approaches, Gabriel kisses Beth for the first time, and they share a passionate moment before he walks her home.

Beth goes home to find a note from Frank, asking her to come to the pub. Still emotionally unsettled from her interaction with Leo, she decides to join him rather than stay home alone with her thoughts. At the Compasses Inn, Beth finds Frank and Jimmy at the bar with her friend Helen and Jimmy’s girlfriend, Nina, working behind it.

When asked about Leo, Beth explains that he was upset about his dog. Frank carefully watches Beth’s reactions when asking about Gabriel, and she describes him as “nice” and “grown up.” Helen, Beth’s closest friend, questions her about Gabriel’s return in private. By the end of the evening, Beth offers to take a puppy from Helen’s dog’s litter, thinking that it might help Leo heal from the loss of his dog.

Beth is distracted during her religious studies class, thinking about her physical desire for Gabriel. After class, Sister Ignatius surprises Beth by offering support for her Oxford application, contrary to her English teacher’s discouragement. On the bus ride home, Beth is thinking about spending Saturday night with Gabriel (having told her parents that she’s staying at Helen’s).

Frank Johnson, a boy who has long admired Beth, sits beside her and awkwardly asks her out. When Beth apologetically tells him that she’s met someone else, Frank is visibly heartbroken and gets off the bus miles from home. For the rest of the journey, Beth feels guilty about Frank’s humiliation and wonders if she might have thrown away the chance at something meaningful.

Beth brings the puppy to Meadowlands for Leo, who is thrilled with the gift. She enters Gabriel’s study, where she finds him typing at his desk, surrounded by books by W. H. Auden, Graham Greene, and Henry James. Beth feels unexpectedly disturbed by their proximity and is romantically attracted to him despite her mental efforts to treat Gabriel as just a friend.

Leo and Gabriel decide to keep the puppy, naming him Hero. Beth offers to help train the dog to behave around livestock, and Leo hugs her in gratitude. When Beth returns home, Frank asks about the puppy, and she explains that she gave it to Leo. Frank expresses concern about Beth spending time with Gabriel and his son, but she assures him that there’s no reason to worry, though she begins to doubt this herself.

In 1969, at the trial, Beth notices people turning to look at her in the public gallery, aware of her identity as a woman who loved two men—one a celebrated writer, the other an ordinary farmer. She recalls how photographers came to their farm when the story broke and how she learned to conceal her face from reporters who constantly asked why “he” did it.

Beth explains that she tells people the story they have prepared, practiced, and perfected while thinking about how much easier it would be if they could tell the truth.

Beth enters Gabriel’s tent by the lake, which is luxuriously furnished with a double mattress, sheepskin rugs, silk decorations, and candles. Initially nervous about being intimate, Beth is reassured by Gabriel’s patience as they talk. She eventually initiates physical contact, and they make love for the first time.

Afterward, Gabriel confesses that he loves her and believes he has since their first meeting. Beth says the same, feeling that their connection is more real than any romantic story she had previously imagined. She wishes for their love story to have a happy ending.

In 1968, while working in the sheep field with Frank and Jimmy, Beth prepares to leave for Meadowlands to train Leo’s puppy. Frank is visibly upset about her going to Gabriel’s house, and Jimmy makes disparaging comments about Gabriel. Beth defends her decision to help but feels self-conscious when Frank notices her more fashionable clothing choice.

At Meadowlands, Beth deliberately avoids spending time with Gabriel, focusing on training Hero in the garden. Afterward, Leo shows Beth his tree house and confides that he’s struggling at school, getting in trouble for outbursts and fighting with other children. Beth comforts him by playing a game of Ludo before leaving, aware that she’s growing attached to the boy despite her promises to Frank and herself to maintain emotional distance.

Gabriel’s parents leave for a week-long holiday in the Scottish Highlands, giving Beth and Gabriel the run of Meadowlands. Beth is initially intimidated by the house’s grandeur. However, she particularly loves a childhood photo of Gabriel with his dog, finding herself unexpectedly moved by it.

The couple spends the week swimming in the lake, sunbathing naked, making love throughout the house, and sharing baths. In the evenings, they drink wine from Gabriel’s father’s cellar, play records, and talk. Gabriel confides that his mother once planned to leave his father for a younger man but stayed because Gabriel threatened to cut ties with her if she left. Before falling asleep on their last night, they make promises never to leave each other, though Beth considers this just “silly talk” between lovers.

Beth is doing household chores when Gabriel visits her farm unexpectedly. He asks if she would consider a paid position taking care of Leo after school while he works. Beth explains that she already has a job running the farm with Frank and Jimmy, and she hesitates about taking money from Gabriel. Gabriel expresses both his appreciation for Beth’s positive impact on Leo and his wish that she wouldn’t avoid him when she visits.

That evening, Beth discusses Gabriel’s job offer with Frank. He strongly objects, seeing it as dangerous to their relationship. Beth insists that she will take the job both for the money and because helping Leo is therapeutic for her. Frank warns that what she’s doing is dangerous, and Beth acknowledges that this is true, creating a new tension in their marriage.

Beth attends a dinner at Meadowlands, where she meets Gabriel’s mother, Tessa, in person. Beth finds herself uncomfortable with her intrusive questions and subtle put-downs, but Gabriel doesn’t step in to help. Tessa seems determined to make Beth feel inferior, questioning her family background and suggesting that Gabriel will tire of her once he goes to Oxford.

After dinner, Beth confronts Gabriel about abandoning her to his mother’s scrutiny. She expresses her frustration about their class difference, noting that Gabriel will never experience being made to feel small or unworthy. Gabriel apologizes, admitting that he’s sometimes scared of his mother’s cruelty. They reconcile with a kiss, reaffirming that their true connection exists outside the social constraints of Meadowlands.

Jimmy and Nina join Beth and Frank for dinner at the farmhouse. The atmosphere is tense due to Beth’s new job at Meadowlands, but Beth explains that helping Leo is therapeutic, helping her face things she’s avoided since Bobby’s death. Frank seems to understand and relax as the evening progresses.

In a surprise moment, Nina proposes to Jimmy in front of Beth and Frank. After Jimmy enthusiastically accepts, they decide to hold the wedding at the farm and invite the entire village. Beth and Frank share a knowing look, both thinking that the wedding is exactly what they all need after their recent difficulties.

Beth prepares for another dinner party at Meadowlands, wearing an outfit that she and her mother made together. At the dinner, she meets American guests Richard and Moira Scott and their daughter, Louisa, who attends Oxford and is extraordinarily beautiful. Beth notices that Gabriel seems drawn to Louisa, and she feels increasingly insecure as they talk intimately throughout the evening.

During the meal, Gabriel discusses a novel he’s writing about gender double standards, impressing Richard, a Hollywood film producer. Later, Tessa takes Beth to the kitchen and warns her that Gabriel will tire of her, suggesting that Beth has been naive to get involved with her son. Beth returns to the dining room unsettled; she sees Gabriel and Louisa as a perfectly matched pair, compared to her outsider status.

Leo routinely receives a phone call from his mother in California at six o’clock in the evening each day. During one call, he becomes upset upon learning that his mother has canceled her planned visit because her new baby is teething. Beth follows Leo to the lake, where he expresses anger that his mother seems to care more about the baby than him.

When Gabriel joins them, Leo rests his head on his father’s shoulder as they watch a sparrow hawk. Leo impresses Gabriel with his knowledge of birds and mentions that Beth’s son, Bobby, knew hundreds of bird species. Beth enjoys hearing Leo talk about Bobby but notices Gabriel giving her a concerned look, as if he’s silently questioning why she’s sharing details about her dead child with his son.

Beth visits Oxford for her interview at St Anne’s College, and Gabriel, who is living at Oxford now, meets her afterward. They reunite passionately in his college room, and Gabriel suggests going to his friend Thomas Nicholls’s house, where Louisa also lives, for his birthday party. At the party, Beth notices that Gabriel introduces her as someone from his village who has come for an interview, rather than as his girlfriend.

Beth becomes increasingly uncomfortable while watching Gabriel interact with Louisa, noting their hushed private conversation. Despite Gabriel’s reassurance that Beth is worth “a thousand of the girls in that room” (94), she remains unsettled by the social dynamics and Louisa’s familiarity with Gabriel’s writing, which he hasn’t shared with Beth. Nevertheless, at the end of the night, they return to his room together, rekindling their connection.

Frank surprises Beth with a stay at an elegant hotel for her 30th birthday, having sold an unused trailer to afford the expense. They spend a blissful afternoon making love, taking a bath together, and enjoying an expensive dinner with wine. The respite from farm life allows them to temporarily set aside the tensions that have been growing between them.

During dinner, they reminisce about Bobby, a rare moment when they openly discuss their shared grief. Emboldened by wine, Frank asks if they are going to be all right, a vulnerable question from a man who typically avoids discussing feelings. Beth can only respond with “I hope so” (98), and they share a rueful laugh about the cliché that time heals, knowing that their path forward remains uncertain.

While Gabriel attends a lecture the next day, Beth explores his college room and discovers his diary. Despite initial hesitation, she reads it and finds early entries where Gabriel expresses missing her intensely. As she continues reading, she notices mentions of Louisa (“L”) increasing, while references to herself diminish. She discovers entries suggesting that Gabriel spent the night with Louisa and that Louisa is in love with him.

Devastated, Beth leaves a note ending their relationship and goes to the bus station. Gabriel finds her there, and when confronted, he becomes angry that she read his diary, rather than denying her accusations. When Beth brings up his mother’s warnings about him using people, Gabriel coldly tells her that she’s right and that they’re finished. They part in tears as Beth boards her bus home, marking the end of their relationship.