Miner's son David Powlett-Jones returns from the carnage of the Western Front in 1918, shell-shocked and bitterly hardened by the violence of war. He begins life agian as a master at a remote Devon school, controlling the destiny of boys barely his junior. As the years pass David becomes a teacher of rare talent, begins to find peace, and adjusts to the changes that are overwhelming society. But when the threat of conflict and bloodshed begins to loom large once agian, David has to face up to the prospect of another terrible war.