Gemma and Will are shattered when their son dies in an accident. Gemma blames herself and starts to have panic attacks that affect her eyesight - and the audience's point of view. Will, tormented, believes he is hearing his son's voice calling out to him. To escape their grief, Gemma suggests they take up Paul's offer to stay at his Lake District country getaway. Gemma's, helped by ex-pharmacist Paul, tries to stop her panic attacks with medication. Will, unable to hear to his son in his bedroom back home, antagonizes Paul and suddenly goes home. Gemma is now reliant on Paul who appears to be developing genuine feelings for her welfare. Love, grief, and the frailty of the human condition are all brought to the fore as Gemma Will and Paul are caught up in a descent into violence, both psychological and ultimately physical.

Henry Stanfield is the new Truth Commissioner in Northern Ireland. Part of his job is to facilitate the peaceful sharing of power in Belfast. However, the investigation into the murder of a teenage boy, who acted as an informer, brings to light more buried secrets than either London or Dublin want to become known, and various people, both at home in Ireland and as far away as America, find out that old sins cast long shadows.