Farida and Zubeida Begum, two sisters born and raised in Birmingham, have had their marriages arranged for them from their early teens with two boys from their ancestral home in Pakistan. Farida moves back to Birmingham to her parent's home with her son due to her ill health in Pakistan. Zubeida's husband, Akbar, is refused access to England with his wife. Zubeida's only means of contact with her husband is via audiotape. She explains how difficult it is without her husband, and tries to persuade the Immigration Service to allow him into the country. The authorities explain that the only way that Akbar will be allowed to come to England is if she gets a job to support him or if he has a guaranteed job when he arrives.

Meanwhile, Farida lives in her ancestral village of Kothlikohan in Pakistan. She is very sick and wants to return to England, but her husband is refused leave to enter Britain. Farida is told her husband would only be allowed to come to England if they were to have a child; Farida, however, is too ill to conceive.