Seated in her car Waiting for the higher ferry to take her across the River Dart from Dartmouth to Kingswear, Evie Adams can't help equating it to some people's real life experiences. Back and forth, back and forth they ply, driven by an outside force; tethered to a lifestyle that inhibits freedom.

As a counsellor, based in Exeter's Cathedral Green, Evie can't help contemplating ponders the extraordinary circumstances surrounding her latest clients, and the way they've impacted upon her own life. On the one hand is Phoebe, terrified that a distant relation is going to contest her deceased mother's will. On the other is Matt, seeking, with Evie's help, the mystery surrounding his biological parentage - all of which raises the question again and again as to whether adoption equates to being chosen or cheated. Matt's cousin, Sophie, meanwhile, is unleashed from the restraints of her childhood and is thus enabled to follow her dreams.