A warm wartime saga of one girl's quest for a better life.Queenie May Ellis vows to herself at the age of eight that one day she will escape, get away from Ma and her life of drudgery. Life is hard in the backstreets of Portsmouth in the 1930s, especially in a crowded house full of hungry brothers. Determined to have a better life, yearning for the passion and romance she sees on the silver screen, Queenie sets out to secure her own future. And handsome, aloof Able Seaman Jackson could be the answer to her prayers. But Keith Jackson has his own ambitions and dreams, and they don't include settling down. And the outbreak of war will bring both heartbreak and hardship for Queenie, changing the course of her life for ever.