After several years abroad, Joe (Paul McGann) and his wife Frankie (Josette Simon) return to England. Frankie is working as a top cancer research specialist, and Joe, a civil engineer, is now a "house father," looking after his one-year-old daughter, Kate. Joe's brother, Paul (Philip Davis), and Linda (Gwyneth Strong), his wife, are childless, and likely to remain that way. Joe decides to solve his brother's infertility problem by becoming Linda's secret sperm donor. Linda gives birth to a daughter and Paul believes he is Angelica's father. But then, after the difficult birth, Linda rejects the baby. Under the pressures of guilt and post-natal depression, Linda is now mentally ill.