William is grieving over his former teacher and mentor, killed fighting for the Republicans in Spain. As Europe slides towards war, he abandons his dream of a life in academia to support his family by working in a factory manufacturing Spitfire parts. And then he bumps into Elizabeth, an old school friend. It isn’t long before the pair are falling in love – but Elizabeth is no longer the girl he remembers.

Caught in a web of counter-espionage, street-fighting, family tension and conflicting desires, William investigates suspicious behaviour at the factory, unleashing tragic consequences that catapult him into the dangerous world of Franco’s Spain, where he must confront what it means to be civilised.