Tom Oakley is a widowed, childless recluse in his sixties, living in a beautiful West Country village. As World War two looms, he is visited by the evacuee billeting officer who entrusts him with the care of a ten-year-old boy from south London, named William Beech. Tom is not an obvious choice for this role, but he lives beside the village church which, for William’s mother, was a condition of allowing her son to be evacuated. William is extremely withdrawn and nervous and it soon becomes clear to Tom that the boy has been neglected and abused at home. Tom, although apparently grumpy on the surface, has an extremely kind nature. He sets out to rehabilitate William and give him the sort of care he has never previously experienced.

As a result, William flourishes. His wounds, both physical and emotional, heal, he makes friends and settles into life in the village. The idyll is interrupted, however, when William receives a summons from his mother to return to London. Reluctantly, Tom sees him off at the railway station, worried sick at the idea of the child returning to the city during the London blitz. When, after a few weeks, he has had no response to his letters to William, Tom goes to London to check on his welfare. What he finds in the boy’s Deptford home is horrifying. Tom rescues William, who is forced to spend some time in hospital. There then follows a struggle with the authorities as Tom tries to convince them of what he believes to be the best for the boy’s future recovery. He believes that what William needs is not psychiatric treatment but simply love.

The story beautifully illustrates the healing power of love, not just in the receiving, but in the giving.