Kirstie lives in exile on the small Shetland island of Yell after the end of yet another torrid affair. This time, she knows she went too far. Her desperate behavior caused the breakdown of her lover's marriage. Taking up residence in her grandparents' croft, which has lain empty since their deaths, wanting time to reflect on her life and disastrous relationships, Kirstie begins to write about her obsessive behavior. What she hasn't realized is that the island is full of relatives she never knew she had. Kirstie has spent her life feeling unloved, hurt, and angry. She wonders what part this plays in the obsessive way she is drawn into relationships. As Kirstie allows some of the local people into her life, she learns of her mother's tragic story and begins to reassess her mother's behavior. As she grapples with her past and begins to settle into her present, her mother, Morag, decides to visit, throwing Kirstie into turmoil once again—and revealing even more shocking truths.