It is 1953 in Canvey Island Len and Auntie Vi are dancing, he in polished shoes and slicked hair, she in fur stole and long gloves Uncle George sits and watches but his mind is elsewhere, still fighting a war that has been over for almost a decade Back at home, Len's wife Lily and their small son Martin are fighting for their lives, waist deep in a raging black torrent Lily's foot is stuck, but she begs her son to leave her and try to get help The sight of his mother, ghostly in her drenched nightness, is his last glimpse of her alive In the years after the flood Len turns to Vi for comfort and as Martin grows older he feels estranged from them both This tells the story of changing times in post war Britain through one family's tragedy and loss