Lily Knowles is desperate to leave home and when she turns twenty-one, she escapes to London to train as a nurse. In the excitement of the city she meets dashing Alex Redfern, who comes from a world she longs to be part of.

Then comes the war, and determined to do their duty they both join up. But in the chaos of a Blitz-weary capital a misunderstanding drives the lovers apart. And then she discovers that Alex has been badly wounded — a changed and bitter man, he is recuperating in Shropshire. She decides to visit him, but what of their once-passionate love? And after the horrors of war can either of their lives ever be the same again...