As the Irish War of Independence comes to a head, Republican leader Eamon de Valera is arrested but quickly released in order to facilitate peace talks with the British. Stephen Ryan, an Irishman who fought for the British in the trenches, is sent to London. He leaves behind his brother, Joe, who has been jailed for his actions in the IRA. There are those on both sides who would see the Treaty fail; Stephen soon finds himself beset by problems - a legal dispute, a blackmail attempt, even a plot to assassinate Winston Churchill. When his fiancee Lillian is threatened by a man who is violent, ruthless and has a grudge against him, matters become not urgent, but personal.