As World War II breaks out, four friends from London’s East End consider the changes that war will mean for all of them. Tomboyish Becky Adams plans to join the ATS, her neighbours Bob and Jim the navy and army respectively. Only Becky’s brother Will is left out of the excitement; because of a slight physical disability he is forced to stay behind, working as a cub reporter on a newspaper. As hostilities gather pace, and the friends are separated, their youthful enthusiasm is tempered by the grim headlines in the newspapers and their experiences at Dunkirk and in the Blitz. Like so many others, Becky and her friends will face hardship, drama and tragedy before the war is over.