Based on the novel of the same name by A.J. Cronin, this British drama presents the hardships faced by a coal-mining village. Local boy Davey Fenwick (Michael Redgrave) goes off to attend university, with hopes of helping his home town in the political arena, but he returns as a schoolteacher, along with his restless wife, Jenny (Margaret Lockwood). When Jenny's ex-boyfriend, the ambitious Joe Gowlan (Emlyn Williams), reappears, it leads directly to a clash with Davey.