Against the simmering tensions of summer 1939, a group of evacuees flee Vienna for the sanctuary of Newtown House in Ireland. Haunted by their pasts and those they have left behind, Gisela Müller and Hans Schmitt struggle to settle into their new, rural Irish home. Tasked with being a companion to the precocious and spoiled Nola de Freyne, Gisela misses her previous scholarly life terribly. Meanwhile, Hans pines for his true love, Anja. With the surprise arrival of a German secret agent to Ireland, Gisela and Nola find themselves caught up in a plot of espionage and IRA politics that will change Hans' and their lives forever. But who is the true Emerald Spy? And what exactly is it that they seek at Newtown House?