Liverpool, 1938; The story starts at Christmas with Rose McAllister waiting for her husband, Steve, to come home. He is a seaman, often drunk and violent, but Rose has learnt to cope with him and sees that her two daughters, Daisy aged eight, and Petal aged four, suffer as little as possible. But Steve has realised that war is coming and decides to reform. He buys the girls beautiful dolls but, on his last night home, he pawns the dolls and goes off on a drinking binge. When war is declared, Rose has a good job but agrees the children must be evacuated. Daisy and Petal go to awful people and when summer comes, they decide to run away. Meanwhile, Rose hears that Steve's ship has gone down and travels to North Wales to tell the children, but finds they have left several days before. That night the blitz on Liverpool begins and Rose returns to find her house has received a direct hit. A neighbour has seen the children making for home and heartbroken Rose believes them to be dead. Alone now, Rose decides to help the war effort by joining the WAAF and is sent to East Anglia...