Set during World War I, The Return of the Soldier tells the story of Chris Baldry, a British soldier who returns home after being wounded in battle. However, his injury is not physical—instead, it causes him to suffer from amnesia, erasing the past fifteen years of his life. As a result, Chris believes that he is still living in the year 1916, before the war began, and has forgotten all the events of his adult life, including his marriage to his wife, Kitty.

Chris's return brings together several key women in his life: Kitty, his wife; Jenny, his cousin and confidante; and Margaret, the woman Chris had loved before his marriage. Each of these women reacts to Chris's return in different ways, and their relationships with him are complicated by his amnesia.
The Return of the Soldier is a poignant exploration of how war disrupts not just the lives of soldiers, but also the emotional and psychological lives of those around them.