Elaine Barrington survives the car crash that kills her husband, Michael, and injures her teenaged daughter Deborah. Michael's mother, Rachel, resents the fact that Elaine survived the crash, while Deborah blames her mother for the 'careless moment', which ruined her life. Added to that, there is jealousy when mother and daughter are attracted to the same man, Andrew Nicholson. It's only when Elaine disappears that the strain she has endured is realized.