When London TV producer Penny finds herself unexpectedly pregnant it throws her carefully thought-out future plans into disarray - and her concerned mother Val's constant attempts to guide her don't help to calm her panic. Meanwhile Penny's grandmother Marguerite - Val's widowed mother - has recently returned to her childhood home in Wicklow and is struggling to show her concern for Penny without it looking like disapproval. Then Marguerite has an idea - she and Val will make a keepsake quilt for the baby a way of welcoming this new member of the family and keeping themselves distracted until Penny is more receptive to their advice. But as they begin to piece together treasured textiles Marguerite becomes fascinated by a mysterious portrait of her own mother and Val is forced to confront her feelings about the past . . .