A quietly devastating portrayal of a family in emotional crisis. Edward is preparing to leave for a year of voluntary service in Africa. His mother Patricia and his sister Cynthia decide to gather the family together, on a remote island (Tresco, one of the Isles of Scilly archipelago), as a farewell trip to say goodbye to Edward. Hired cook Rose and painting teacher Christopher, though bought in to help, only serve to bring the family's anxieties into sharper focus. When the father's arrival is delayed, the unspoken forces of absence and loss bring the family's buried anger to the surface.