A disgraced army doctor returns to his village in Edwardian England and discovers that the local factory has been poisoning the river. As sickness spreads and tempers rise, he risks his freedom and family name to expose the truth and protect the people he once abandoned.

SYNOPSIS:

Dr Hugh Courtenay steps out of His Majesty’s Prison with more scars than answers. His old friend Gus greets him with bravado that barely hides worry. Hugh tries to shape a plan for his future but carries the weight of his military past and a fractured family waiting at home. After a night of bruised reunions and small humiliations, he heads to the countryside to start again.

The village offers little comfort. A child’s funeral procession passes him on the road. His father greets him with coldness. His mother tries to find a place for him in the home he left long ago. Hugh attends a formal dinner at the mansion of his brother in law, Sir Edward Lyttleson, a risingindustrialist with political ambitions. Beneath the polished surface lies tension. Mary, Hugh’s sister, is pregnant and uneasy. Sir Edward speaks of progress while workers grow ill and livestock falters.

Hugh begins serving as the village doctor. His first patients hint at a pattern of sickness that reaches beyond poverty. Fish caught in the river are deformed. Children grow pale and weak. Grace Collins, a woman Hugh once loved, watches her daughter Nell decline with an illness she cannot understand. Hugh tries to help, yet his role in their past creates friction rather than trust.

Hugh’s investigation into the river points toward the factory where Sir Edward produces munitions and chemical compounds. His attempts to question workers meet resistance. Sir Edward reassures him that the water is safe and presents test results that show no danger. Hugh cannot reconcile these assurances with his growing evidence. He sends Gus to collect water samples and arrange independent testing but receives little clarity in return.

Family conflict deepens. Hugh clashes with Mary over her loyalty to Sir Edward. Old wounds surface concerning their deceased brother James and the choices Hugh made during the war. Lionel remains distant and judgmental. Grace oscillates between affection and resentment, bound by a troubled marriage and frightened for her daughter’s life.

The illness spreads. After a heated confrontation with Patrick at the village fair, Hugh’s own resolve falters. The turning point arrives when Nell dies in Grace’s arms. Grief overwhelms the village and exposes the full cost of the pollution. Hugh steps before the villagers in the hall and calls for collective action. His plea divides the room but plants a spark that cannot be ignored.

The following day, the Prime Minister arrives for a ceremonial visit. The villagers protest. Soldiers attempt to disperse the crowd, which erupts into a violent clash near the factory gates. Patrick sacrifices himself to draw enemy fire away from the villagers. Grace, injured and shaken, gives Hugh a key that ties Sir Edward to a hidden piece of the puzzle. Hugh confronts the truth behind the tests and the breadth of the coverup.

Disguised as a servant, Hugh enters the mansion during a formal dinner. He lays the deformed fish before the Prime Minister and presents the evidence that links the factory to the village’s suffering. Mary, shaken by her son’s illness, supports Hugh for the first time. The Prime Minister forces Sir Edward to shut down the factory. Hugh’s own future remains uncertain, yet his moral position is reclaimed.

In the final scene, Hugh returns to Grace’s cottage. She struggles with her grief and avoids the possibility of reconciliation, yet Hugh helps bandage her wound and listens as she speaks of what lies ahead. Their connection is fragile but honest. Outside, villagers call for Hugh, and he leaves his coat behind as he goes to answer them. The story closes on a man who has rejoined his community and accepted the duty he once fled.