1987, love in time of war. A bus driver George Lennox meets Carla, a Nicaraguan exile living a precarious, profoundly sad life in Glasgow. Her back is scarred, her boyfriend missing, her family dispersed; she"s suicidal. George takes her to Nicaragua to find out what has happened to them and to help her face her past. Once home, Carla"s nightmarish memories take over, and Carla and George are thrown into the thick of the US war against the Sandinistas. A mystery develops over where Carla"s boyfriend is, and the key to his whereabouts may be Carla"s friend Bradley, a bitter American aid worker. She finds her family, the Contras attack, and she and the Scot face their choices.