A Summer Story

While walking on Dartmoor, Ashton twists his ankle and is helped by Megan at a nearby farmhouse. He stays there to recover for a few days as his friend continues on. During this time, he grows fond of Megan and the quiet countryside that surrounds her.

While recovering, Ashton joins the village for a sheep-shearing festival and learns to shear his first sheep. Megan's care and charm reveal her affection for him. That night, Megan confesses her feelings and they consummate their relationship.

After a fight with Joe over Megan, Ashton leaves the farm and makes arrangements to meet Megan again and marry her. He quickly plans how they might start a life together.

To carry out his plan, he takes a train to Torquay to cash a cheque at a bank. He promises Megan that he will return the next morning to take her away and marry her.

In Torquay, the bank cannot cash the cheque until London confirms the funds, forcing Ashton to wait in the seaside town. This delay tests his resolve and his certainty about the future. He anxiously hopes to keep his vow.

While waiting, Ashton meets Halliday, an old school friend who is staying at a local hotel with his three sisters. Stella, the eldest sister, takes a liking to him.

Halliday cautions him against letting romance obscure reality, warning that Megan's life on Dartmoor would be uprooted. Ashton listens, but his feelings grow more persistent.

Over the next day, Ashton spends time with Halliday and his sisters; Stella flirts with him and he begins to doubt the wisdom of leaving Megan.

Meanwhile, Megan waits at their rendezvous spot in Dartmoor and, believing Ashton may not come, decides to travel to Torquay to search for him.

On the Torquay street, Ashton suddenly sees Megan among the crowds. He hatches a plan to send Stella back to the hotel and then follows Megan, nearly catching up until he hides behind a building and she passes by.

Eighteen years later, Ashton is married to Stella and they are motoring through Devon with no children. The quiet journey contrasts with the romance of his youth, underscoring the life he chose.

At the farm, Ashton learns that Megan returned heartbroken after losing him and died soon after giving birth to a son named Francis, or Frank. Her grave lies at the spot where they first met, the place she asked to be buried to wait for his return.

Driving away, he is taken to Megan's grave at the meeting spot, a poignant reminder of what might have been. The grave becomes a touchstone for the life he almost shared.

On the return journey, a young man herding sheep gives Ashton a friendly smile. He realizes with a shock that the man is Megan's son, Frank.