Ethel Twomey is running away from her abusive father and the tragic suicide of her sister; Kate is escaping her overprotective parents in her fight to gain independence; and shy Rosie is determined to discover life beyond her sleepy home town and the cloying affections of her grandmother. They become firm friends and share the excitements and terrors of life on an army base in England during World War Two. As well as being part of the fight against Hitler, they also face their own private battles as they grow up and learn how to accept their families as well as face the trials that life brings. When the end of the war is in sight, they foresee a future very different than the one they had all envisaged as young, innocent NAAFI recruits, and it seems that the world will never be the same again.