Rose McAllister is waiting for her husband, Steve, to come home. He is a seaman, often drunk and violent. Rose does her best to cope and sees that her daughters, Daisy and Petal, suffer as little as possible. Sensing that war is on the horizon, Steve tries to reform, but on his last night home, he pawns the girls' new dolls to go on a drinking binge.

When war is declared, Rose finds a good job but agrees the children must be evacuated. War brings hardship and difficulty for the girls and Rose as they face the destruction of their home and cruelty at the hands of others…