Raven-haired Kate Larkin lives on the banks of the Grand Canal in Ballygrace with her widowed mother, Mary, and volatile brother Brendan, who works on the barges. Her days are spent keeping house for the family with occasional nights dancing with her friends. Life changes when Brendan introduces her to a handsome young boatman, Michael O'Brien, and Kate finds love, but her safe, predictable world is shattered when a tragedy occurs, leaving the pregnant Kate and her mother in circumstances they could never have imagined.