Becky Russell and Eleanor James were girls who deserved the best in life. But in suburban New Malden in the summer of 1920, what is best for some may not be enough for others. When they leave school at fourteen, the girls who little choice but to take menial jobs in the town. Eleanor is more disposed to the toil of the laundry house and the simple charms of the local lads, but Becky wants something better. Taking a job as a 'nippy', a waitress at one of the West End's most prestigious tea-shops, she enters a privileged and exciting world where men like Gerald Palmer will spare no expense to court her affections, and where business success enables her to ease some of Eleanor's struggles. Becky's sure she has fulfilled her dreams, but in a rich man's world, the game of love is never simple ...