It's 1934 and Cathy Kelling is eleven years old. She has always lived in Daisy Street in Liverpool, the only child of elderly parents. Her best friend is Jane, who has half a dozen brothers and sisters, and her worst enemy is Jimmy McCabe, who lives nearby, the eldest of a large and penniless family. He calls Cathy spoilt and posh because she goes to a private school. The girls are forced to grow up fast when war breaks out in 1939. But it has its advantages: Cathy is enchanted to meet Ned Latimer, a handsome RAF pilot from Norfolk. He is delighted with Cathy's wit and personality, but it is Jane who uses her good looks to steal him away. Broken-hearted, Cathy joins the WAAF, determined to do her bit. But Fate has not finished with her as she is thrown together with Ned again, at Britain's most desperate hour...