Harry Evans"s first years of life were blighted by a brutal stepfather. At the age of five his mother, Sali, married a miner, Lloyd Evans, a passionate believer in workers" rights. When he returns to Pontypridd after school, he finds that his beloved "grandfather," ex-miner Billy Evans, has lung disease, and when Billy is sent to a sanatorium in the Welsh Hills, the only one free to accompany him is Harry. There Harry meets two very different women: Diana, a feminist medical student, and Mary, an illiterate, orphaned farmer"s daughter. For the first time in his life Harry falls in love, only to suffer rejection. Harry turns to Billy for consolation, and as his relationship with the old man deepens, he learns about life, love, and the responsibility that comes with inherited wealth. But he also discovers the responsibility each man owes to himself to live his life as he, and no one else, sees fit.