Douglas Tallentire has at last attained the freedom his father and grandfather before him fought so hard for. Educated and independent, he can carve out the career of his choice. But even amid the new-found security of city life in the late 1970s, happiness remains as elusive as ever. From rural Cumbria to the frenetic whirl of London and New York, Douglas, like all the Tallentires, must come to terms with pain and misfortune, as an old way of life is replaced with a new one.