As the Germans bomb London in 1940 eight year old Jean is evacuated to Cornwall. When she is orphaned her foster parents adopt her, and she marries their son, David.. After a time family and
country life stifle David's ambitions and he leaves Jean to find his fortune in South Africa, abandoning her with two small children and his aging father.Just as Jean discovers her love for
Tom, son of the neighbouring farmer, David returns, but quickly realises he is not wanted. He flies to America and settles there, until tragedy intervenes and he returns to Cornwall. Meanwhile
the younger members of the family struggle to seek the end of their own rainbows, in spite of their families losing theirs.