Forbidden by her parents to become a musician, Kate Bradley is stunned when her small daughter reveals an exceptional talent for the piano. Kate is determined to give Alicia the chance to succeed and it's not long before the fame of the Peak District prodigy begins to spread. Alicia, though, craves her father's approval: Guy, with a demanding job, is rarely at home, alienated by Kate's obsession with her daughter's burgeoning career. Meanwhile Alicia's tearaway brother is sidelined, and warns his sister that Kate doesn't mother her but smother her.

As the heap of white lies designed to keep Alicia concentrating on her piano in peace escalates into a mountain of deceit, conflict threatens to overwhelm the entire family - with potentially devastating consequences.