The Fens, 1954.
It has been another tough winter. The floods are worse than anyone can remember and Fenlands are alive with blackmarketeers, vagabonds and chancers, all trying to make their way.
The shadow of the war still hangs over these lands. Many people have lost everything. Others just want the chance to begin again. For Jimmy Devlin, both are true.
Forced from his home by bailiffs, Devlin must make a fresh start. But desperate people have a knack of finding trouble and he is no exception. It doesn't take long before he's caught in the wrong business with the wrong people and on the wrong side of the law...