2011. New Zealand is enduring the aftershocks of a devastating earthquake. Marty Pawson is suffering the aftershocks of a failed marriage and poor career choices. When his mother dies suddenly, Marty finds himself in possession of a handful of letters from the end of the First World War. As the letters unfold the story of Julia, who left England with a New Zealand soldier in 1919, Marty is drawn into a family secret that leads him south to the Otago high country, to an unexpected grave, and to tragic past events that will change his life in ways he never imagined.