Deserted by her husband and with a houseful of kids to feed, Mrs Johnstone learns she is expecting twins, whom she cannot afford to keep. The affluent but childless Mrs Lyons, whose house she cleans, masterminds a plan to take one of the new born twins and pass him off as her own. Knowing this will lead to a better life for her child, Mrs Johnstone despairingly agrees.

Despite their mothers’ attempts to keep them apart, the twins’ lives continue to intertwine and they strike up an unlikely friendship, never knowing the truth, until the weight of their mother’s burden threatens to break the bonds of brotherhood.