Lionel Hardcastle returns to England after many years as a coffee planter in Kenya. He's writing a book "My Life In Kenya" and needs secretarial help. He hires a temporary secretary from an agency run by widow Jean Pargeter. When he discovers that Jean is the woman he was in love with until they lost touch during the Korean War, 38 years earlier, an old flame is rekindled. The couple, after a shaky start, revives their relationship which steadily develops, until, eventually, hey are married.