Lord John Grey, a nobleman and high-ranking officer in His Majesty's army in 1757, faces a dilemma when he must decide how to let his cousin know that her fiancee has the pox without revealing how he came by the information, while at the same time he is tapped to investigate the murder of a comrade who may have been a spy.

Juliet Ashton, a thirty-year-old author, writes to her publisher expressing her desire to stop covering the aftermath of WWII, but Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams invites neighbors to write to Juliet with their stories, which puts her off at first but eventually helps her find inspiration for her next book, and her life.

In 1766, a boy, Billy Marvel, is shipwrecked, rescued, and goes on to found a brilliant family of actors that flourishes in London until 1900--and nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis, runs away from home, seeking refuge with his uncle in London, and is captivated by the Marvel house, with its portraits and ghostly presences.