From the 1930s to the 1960s, Sam follows the life of a young boy growing up in a Yorkshire mining village. But Sam reflects more than just one man's life it captures the qualities and textures of the time, weaving and exploring the fabric of a nation. The war is over and Sam is a young man. He is unhappy working in the pit and has no respect for Alan Dakin, his mother's ex-lover, whose house he lives in. When his Grandfather dies, he leaves Sam some property and appoints him Trustee for his father. Nobody knows Sam's father Harry's whereabouts or even if he is still alive. Sam goes to sea and in Germany finds people who actually knew his father. But when Sam returns from sea, he finds many things in Skellerton have changed. His mind strays back to his childhood and he relives the actual day his father left and his last words.