Saheeda and her daughter Nasreen have flown from England to visit Saheeda’s family.  Saheeda has not returned since she left as a young bride.  They are waiting at the airport for the family to meet them.

It is the monsoon and it is raining.  The family is late. Saheeda is feeling excited and nervous about seeing them again.  Nasreen wants to be at home with her new friends enjoying the summer holidays.  She constantly tries to irritate Saheeda, texting her friends and being argumentative. Saheeda gets very upset with Nasreen and leaves her alone while she goes to the toilet.

Auntie Munah and Alia, Saheeda’s childhood friend, arrive and mistake Nasreen for Saheeda.  When Saheeda arrives they realise the mistake and they travel back to the village together.  On the journey, Nasreen complains all the way.

Finally they arrive and Nasreen falls to sleep leaving Saheeda to remember her childhood.  She remembers the day her mother died and the dolls they made at school.  Nasreen wakes from a nightmare and Saheeda puts henna on her hands to ward off evil spirits.  Nasreen pretends to be Madonna before Saheeda tells her to go back to sleep.

Saheeda falls to sleep and as she is sleeping, Nasreen remembers how they would move house to escape her father.  Saheeda starts to have a nightmare and when she wakes, Nasreen asks her to tell her why she is so unhappy.  Saheeda starts to tell her about her secret garden of buried dreams - all the memories she tries to forget.  She starts to tell Nareen about the happy times, her grandmother catching her smoking her hookah, playing in the fields, visiting the seaside, thinking of food during Ramadan and being tricked by her mother and auntie. She also tells Nasreen about the first time she had henna painted on her hands and how special she felt.

The next day, Alia tells Nasreen about what happened when Saheeda got a new stepmother.  How she destroyed the wedding food and ran around the house full of anger.  How hard it was for Saheeda without her mother.

Saheeda tells Nasreen about some of the more difficult times in her childhood, cleaning the well and nearly drowning, being made to carry bricks on her head, for two hours each day, so that her father could build a new house for her stepmother. 

How she was sent to Saudi Arabia to live with relatives.  How she got married and moved to England.  Saheeda shows Nasreen the sights where she grew up and finally they make wishes on the stars for their future.  They realise that their ambitions are different and eventually come to terms with this.  They also realise how important this holiday has been for their relationship.

The next day, the wedding celebration starts and Nasreen and Saheeda enjoy their day together.  Saheeda asks Nasreen what souvenir she would like to take back to England.  She would like a Henna tree.