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 on hearing of his engagement to someone else a heartbroken Lily throws herself into her work where the shocking sights she witnesses help to numb the pain of her own loss. 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?