Winnie is determined to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a nurse, despite her family's desire for her to settle down and marry her sweetheart.

Viv has been sent to the Nightingale by her father, who hopes the hospital can instil some discipline into his happy-go-lucky daughter.

Beth has spent her life making up for the loss of her beloved sister, Elspeth, by being the perfect daughter. But how long can she go on trying when her mother hardly seems to notice her?