With old age setting in, Kieran, an American schoolteacher, begins to wonder about the father that he has never met. Since his mother suffered from a stroke she is no longer able to give him any information, so he sets off to her village in Ireland to find out about her past.

In a series of flashbacks we learn that Kieran's mother was a member of the aristocracy and her father was a poor, uneducated servant. However despite their radically differing circumstances they become romantically involved, and defy the wrath of the villagers in order to remain together.