Shortly before World War I, when Wandsworth Common was still a countrified suburb, the author was growing up there, observing the behaviour and conversation of the unconventional parents and other adults around her. The young Phyllis Betts and her brother learned early about life's dangers and tragedies, as well as how to make their own decisions. Her memory of many young men who went to war left her with an abiding impression that people who come to say goodbye do not come back.