In 1940s France, painter Louis Duval decides to leave his studio and make the short but perilous journey to England. He aims to join the Resistance to fight for his beloved country. Arriving in Dartmouth he finds his way to a boarding house run by a young widow Barbara Hillyard, who is trying to make a living for herself and her young evacuee Esme.
Lieutenant-Commander Alan Powell, unfit for active service after being wounded in action, is overseeing undercover operations in the West Country, and he and Duval find themselves in dangerous circumstances. Alan, lonely and frustrated in his work, is drawn towards the lovely Mrs Hillyard, but she seems to have eyes only for the attractive Frenchman...