She travels from her home in Manchester to the isle of Kiloran in the Hebrides to marry Sir Robert Bellinger, a very wealthy, much older industrialist.

When bad weather postpones the final leg of her journey (the boat trip to Kiloran), she is forced to wait it out on the Isle of Mull, among a community of people whose values are quite different from hers.

There she meets Torquil MacNeil, a Royal Navy officer trying to go home to Kiloran while on shore leave.

She also meets some of the residents, such as the boatman Ruairidh Mhór, the eccentric falconer Colonel Barnstaple, and the poor but proud Catriona Potts, a friend of Torquil's who takes them in for the night.

As the bad weather worsens into a full-scale gale, Torquil spends more time with Joan, who becomes torn between her ambition and her growing attraction to him.

Desperate to salvage her carefully laid plans, Joan convinces Ruairidh Mhór's young assistant, Kenny, to attempt the crossing for £20.

En route, the boat is caught in the Corryvreckan whirlpool, but Torquil restarts the flooded engine just in time.

From the battlements, Torquil sees Joan marching resolutely towards him, accompanied by the three pipers, playing "Nut-Brown Maiden".

)[citation needed] Pressburger suggested that instead they make a film that was part of the "crusade against materialism", a theme they had tackled in A Canterbury Tale, only in a more accessible romantic comedy format.

[6] Hiller was originally cast in the three roles Kerr played in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp but had to withdraw when she became pregnant.

[10] Pressburger later said that when he visited Paramount Pictures in 1947 the head of the script department told him they considered the film's screenplay perfect and frequently watched it for inspiration.

From various topographical references and a map briefly shown in the film, it is clear that the Isle of Kiloran is based on Colonsay, south of Mull.

[17] Powell shot a scene at the end of the film where Catriona follows Torquil into the castle, to emphasise her love for him, but decided to cut it.

[18] The puirt à beul "Macaphee"[19] was performed by Boyd Steven, Maxwell Kennedy and Jean Houston of the Glasgow Orpheus Choir.

[20] The song sung at the cèilidh that Torquil translates for Joan is a traditional Gaelic song "Ho ro, mo nighean donn bhòidheach", originally translated into English as "Ho ro My Nut Brown Maiden" by John Stuart Blackie in 1882.

[24] Contemporary reviews were positive: The Times wrote, "The cast makes the best possible use of some natural, unforced dialogue, and there is some glorious outdoor photography."

The glimpses of Highland life, the dancing at the ceilidh, the gossip of travellers in a bus, the enthusiasm of the bird enthusiast (played by Captain Knight) with his eagle, all this is admirably done; and the storm, which is the climax of the film, is realistic and gripping.