Louise, a nurse in wartime Simon's Town, has fallen in love with a Royal Navy officer who is trapped in a marriage arranged by his family. David does not hide his marital status from her but neither can he deny that Louise is the true love of his life. But what should they do? Can he leave his wife even as she remains behind in England, managing the family estate, while he serves abroad? Surely he and Louise should wait until the end of the war - and his survival - before declaring their love openly.
There are deeper issues, too. Louise is mixed race and poor, David is white and from a privileged family. If they marry, Louise will have to leave the place she loves and make her way in a world that is very different from what she has always known. But David and Louise are convinced that their love will overcome all hurdles, and David asks his wife for his freedom.
And this is where things become complicated.
David's wife, Elizabeth, announces that she is expecting their child. After the baby is born, she gives him an ultimatum: to choose between his lover and his child.
Elizabeth is exerting a cruel revenge, he writes to Louise. I love my daughter and I love you, with all my heart. But can I abandon my child to the care of someone who can impose such a brutal choice?
And Louise? Should she hold on, hoping that he'll come back for her?
Or, she wonders, should I choose the harder option, the more honourable one: release David from his commitment to me. Give him my blessing to remain with his wife for the sake of their child.
But I didn't do it. I didn't choose the honourable course. I left it up to him.
And, unlike me, he didn't have the option to wait. He was forced to choose...
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