In Donegal in 1936, the five Mundy sisters live on their family farm, eking out a precarious existance. All are single: Kate, the eldest and most middle-aged in attitude; Maggie, dependable Agnes; Rose, who is having a secret affair with a married man; and Christina, who has a son by a man who is never there. Their steady lives begin to change when their older brother Jack returns from Africa and the father of Christina's baby swings back into town. In addition, their livelihoods are threatened by social changes, such as the opening of a woolen factory that the sisters' hand-woven clothes can't compete against.