Coming Home (1998)

The story focuses on Judith Dunbar, who is enrolled in St. Ursula's, an English boarding school, when her parents and younger sister move to colonial Singapore. She is introduced to a world of wealth and privilege by her classmate, Loveday Carey-Lewis, whose family owns the magnificent Cornwall estate known as Nancherrow. Although Judith enjoys the company of her doting Aunt Louise, who has been named her legal guardian during her parents' absence, she prefers to spend as much of her school holidays as possible with Loveday's parents and siblings, who welcome her as one of their own. When Aunt Louise is killed in an automobile accident, she leaves her considerable estate to Judith, who will be independently wealthy for life if she handles her inheritance wisely. Judith becomes increasingly attracted to Loveday's older brother Edward and eventually succumbs to his gentle seduction. When she realizes she was foolishly naive to think he was committed to a permanent relationship, she departs Nancherrow and enlists in the Royal Navy at the onset of World War II. The ensuing years wreak havoc on her life and those of the people she loves. Edward, blinded in battle, returns home and commits suicide rather than be a burden to others. When Loveday's fiancé Gus goes missing in action and she realizes she is pregnant with his child, she agrees to marry her friend Walter. Judith reunites with Carey-Lewis family friend Jeremy Wells, a doctor who has loved her since the day they met, but unexpected circumstances tear them apart. Further complications arise when Judith's sister Jess is placed in her care after the ship on which she and their mother were returning to England is bombed by the Japanese and Jess is placed in an internment camp. With their father missing and their mother lost at sea, Judith must learn to interact with a grieving young girl emotionally scarred by her wartime experiences.

En 1936, la jeune Judith Dunbar entre en pension à St. Ursula, un collège de filles, lorsque ses parents et sa jeune sœur s'installent à Singapour, alors colonie britannique. Elle y rencontre Loveday Carey-Lewis et les deux jeunes filles se lient d'une profonde amitié. Lorsque sa tante Louise perd la vie dans un accident de voiture, Judith hérite de sa considérable fortune, qui lui permettra de jouir d'une certaine aisance financière toute sa vie, si elle la gère avec sagesse. Judith a trouvé le bonheur à Nancherrow, mais la Seconde Guerre mondiale approche. Ce bonheur y survivra-t-il ?

Pro Judith Dunbarovou je první návštěva Nancherrow, rodinného domu její nové přítelkyně Loveday, na první pohled jako láska. Do panství se zamiluje se všemi svými obyvateli, jejichž přátelskost a vystupování vyrůstá z naivní dívky na sebejistou mladou dámu. Všechny tyto události jsou však zastíněny vypuknutím druhé světové války. Někteří mladí lidé, jejichž smích byl kdysi slyšet kolem Nancherrowa, se už nikdy nebudou smát. Sama Judith musí jít na dlouhou cestu, dokud se nakonec nevrátí domů.

Für Judith Dunbar ist der erste Besuch auf Nancherrow, dem Familiensitz ihrer neuen Freundin Loveday, wie Liebe auf den ersten Blick. Sie verliebt sich in das Gut mit all seinen Bewohnern, durch deren Freundlichkeit und Auftreten sie von einem naiven Mädchen zu einer selbstsicheren jungen Dame heranwächst. Aber all diese Ereignisse werden vom Ausbruch des zweiten Weltkrieges überschattet. Einige junge Menschen, deren Lachen man früher rund um Nancherrow hörte, werden nie wieder lachen. Judith selbst muss auf eine lange Reise gehen, bis sie zuletzt wieder HEIMKEHRen wird.