Promise is set in Nebraska in the late 1930s during the development of the US Air Force leading up to World War II and follows the lives of a family struggling to achieve the American dream during a time of economic depression and political upheaval.

The Peters siblings moved from New York City to Nebraska in 1927. It is now 1938 and after the death of their mother they find themselves trapped, caring for an ailing father in a tiny town with no hope of achieving the American dream. That is until the arrival of two newcomers to town shakes them to the core and opens the door to possibilities they had never imagined. This adaptation shines light on a generation of people who were given every opportunity to flourish but political and economic circumstances leave them floundering and failing − a situation that resonates deeply with so many people today.