David Bosworth and Penelope Lorrimer seem to have everything against them. He is a penniless undergraduate at Oxford with a head full of dreams; she is the daughter of a well-to-do Edinburgh family who have great ambitions for her. Nevertheless their friendship defies the gulf between their social backgrounds, and the opposition that they encounter draws them closer than any love more easily won.

But as the shadow of war creeps over Europe, there will be greater challenges before they can hope to be together.