Tooting, 1950: After losing her husband in the war, Ida Wilcox is not so sure that bringing children into the world is such a good idea after all. However much her loving family in Tooting rally round, she still has her hands full coping with whatever life throws at her three.
Ida is used to Alan chancing his luck and dreaming his life away, but had not expected Norman, usually so responsible and reliable, to give up his steady job at the post office for the sake of Alan's latest scheme to make them all rich. And then there is poor Ruby, vulnerable to Brian Brookshaw and her father-in-law's violent outburst and her own rebellious spirit. What kind of a future can Ruby give her little boys if she can't find a good man or hold down a decent job?