Posle pohoron materi Rebekka razbiraet veshchi v opustevshey kvartire i sluchayno obnaruzhivaet konvert so shtempelem Kornuolla. Vnutri - otchayannaya pros'ba ee prestareloy tetushki Olivii: privesti v poryadok staryy dom, inache starushku zhdet vyselenie. Sovershenno poteryannaya posle smerti materi, Rebekka reshaet otpravit'sya v Kornuoll.
Na meste zhenshchinu zhdet nepriyatnyy syurpriz: Oliviya popala v bol'nicu, i vypisat' ee smogut tol'ko posle remonta doma! Orobevshaya Rebekka tem ne menee reshitel'no beretsya za delo. Ey meshaet vse: nekhvatka deneg, popugay-skvernoslov, vechno nedovol'nye sosedi... Odnako po mere togo, kak so sten sloy za sloem skhodit kraska, shtukaturka i vekovaya gryaz', Rebekke otkryvayutsya tayny, pohoronennye bolee semidesyati let nazad. Tayny vremen, kogda za oknami bushevala voyna, no v venah molodoy Olivii kipela krov' i lyubov' i strast' zaglushali strah... Zanimayas' remontom, Rebekka po kirpichiku vosstanavlivaet istoriyu zhizni Olivii, otstraivaya pri etom i samu sebya.