It is the 15th of February 1963, and Ivy Brown, typist at the Wiseman Pulverising Factory, is about to turn thirty. As Ivy sits, staring at the back of the typist in front of her, she tries desperately to avoid thinking about her impending birthday, her freckled hands and her diminishing horizons. Two things lift Ivy Brown from her gloom: her brand new Beaver Lamb coat and the thought of Arthur. Arthur is the man on whom Ivy has pinned all her hopes. We are our own secret Arthur says, and Ivy loves to repeat it, even as she recollects the parts of her life she has kept from him. But when Ivy spots Arthur at the bus stop, his arm around a young girl, she realises that she is not the only person keeping secrets. Her determination to uncover the truth spells disaster for all those in her way.