As a girl, Daisy Caldwell wanted nothing more than to emulate her beloved mother, who dazzled crowds with her stage performances. However, when her mother died in a tragic accident Daisy had to grow up quickly, and she chose to strike out in a new direction and train as a nurse. By spring 1940, she has grown to relish her vocation, but as the war takes its tell on her friends and relatives she realises that she may not be as professional as she's assumed. Meanwhile Daisy's eldest sister Immy is finally finding her own niche as official driver to Royal Engineers officer Captain Grayson Beckett, while the middle Caldwell girl, Elsle, is content to watch the progress of the war from the sidelines, waiting for the birth of her first child - until her new husband returns on a hospital ship from Dunkirk...