Alix--arrogant, middle-aged, and angry--comes home to the derelict port of Liverpool as her mother lies dying. Irritably resigned to living alone for the rest of her life, she suddenly finds herself attracted to a stranger. Joseph is an American architect who has come to the city to build a hotel. Refusing to accept that his wife has left him or the trauma of a war he once fought in, the question is whether these survivors of the battles of the 70s are meant for each other or not.