1918. Civilian artist Tom Thomson has drowned up north. His uniformed friends are back from the World War I and holding a wake. Jackson, Varley and Lismer. All will become famous painters. Now they're drunk-and shocked when Claire Logan appears. Revealed as Tom's lover, Claire ignites passions. Was Tom a great artist who rose above the war? Or a coward who fled his duty by painting pretty pictures? We flash back to Tom's sensual affair with Claire. Then Varley and Jackson square off, raging over his loss. When Claire opens up, we grasp something of Tom's legacy. And of passion. Duty. Love.