In August 1900, ten-year-old Maddy has made a new friend on the sands of North Bay, Scarborough. The summer stretches out before Maddy and Jessie with ice creams, Pierrot shows and lots of fun to be had. And Maddy is enjoying having someone to show around her home town, relieved that the 'family business', Isaac Moon & Son, Undertakers, has not put Jessie off. While the two girls and the two families get to know each other, trouble lies ahead for Maddy as secrets buried long before she was born return to Scarborough and the present.