A recent widow, who is determined to leave Scotland for Australia with her son, gets an unexpected visit from her aging mother.

This movie centers on four pairs - Frances (Dame Emma Thompson) is a recent widow who wants to get away from Scotland to Australia with her teenage son Alex (Gary Hollywood) to escape her memories, arrival of her old mother Elspeth (Phyllida Law) makes her reconsider her decision. Alex approaches his first sexual experience with neighbour girl Nita (Arlene Cockburn). Chloe (Sandra Voe) and Lily (Sheila Reid) are two old women who like to attend strangers' funerals and Tom (Sean Biggerstaff) with Sam (Douglas Murphy) are two schoolboys who skip school to play on the beach and talk.

It's February in a coastal Scottish village in what has been a colder than usual winter as witnessed by the sea being frozen over. The conditions have made the landscape starker than usual, including that most people have taken refuge inside. Over the course of a few hours, four pairs of people are followed, each pair generally on their own and at different stages of their lives and life experience than the other three. Seniors Lily (Sheila Reid) and Chloe (Sandra Voe) are doing what they do most days: attending the funeral of someone they don't know, a certain beauty which they find in the whole funereal process, including how it marks the end of the arc of one's life. Although they talk often about their own demise, they may not truly realize how close they are to others attending their funerals. Elderly Elspeth (Phyllida Law) has made an unannounced visit to her middle aged photographer daughter Frances (Dame Emma Thompson), a recent widow. The death of her husband Jamie (Ross Lewis) has left Frances in a deep depression. Frances is contemplating moving to Australia, a place where she and her teenaged son Alex (Gary Hollywood) recently visited, solely to escape from any memory of Jamie. Despite Elspeth's visit being outwardly to comfort her daughter, who in turn would have preferred to mourn in solitude, Elspeth, especially upon trying to determine if Frances is serious about moving, wants to know that Frances truly still needs her as a child needs a mother. While out, Alex meets for the first time a young woman named Nita (Arlene Cockburn), who has recently moved to the area. Nita, who long ago noticed Alex, still uses typical children's tactics for Alex to notice her, although she wants him to notice her in a more adult way. As they spend time together, their behavior, Alex's which is affected by his father's recent death, begins to mature. And Tom (Sean Biggerstaff) and Sam (Douglas Murphy), on the verge of puberty, have decided to be truants for the day, largely hanging out down on the frozen beach. Although some of their hijinx are typical of kids their age, especially concerning their burgeoning sexuality, they also have more adult themed discussions and experiences based on the circumstances of their day.—Huggo