Based on the novel "The Old Jest" by Jennifer Johnston, this is the story of an Irish revolutionary in the 1920's, who draws a young woman into his dangerous world of romance, intrigue and death.
In the summer of 1920, teenage orphan Nancy lives with her grandfather and aunt in southern Ireland. Naive and romantic, Nancy finds a stranger holed up in her beach hut. She trusts the mysterious man, Cassius, despite the fact that he has a gun. She cares for him enough to relay a message to Dublin on his behalf. After she communicates Cassius's message, twelve British officers are gunned down. And Nancy is terrified by the power of the stranger's words. She suspects he might be a spy.
Though alarmed by the shooting, Nancy is more captivated by Cassius than ever and even warns him when English soldiers comb the beach, heading for his hideout. While the adolescent Nancy struggles to make sense of her changing emotions, she also has to stay out of danger a balancing act that forces her to leave her childhood dreams behind.