England is on the brink of war, but the people of rural Barsetshire are not down-hearted. Mr and Mrs Birkett who run the local school have, after many broken engagements, seen their daughter Rose married to Fairweather. With the celebrations, however, comes extraordinary news: a London school is to be evacuated to Barsetshire. As the village rallies round to supply huge numbers of cockney children with rabbit stew, the local characters are seen in their true colours.