Kate's sheltered life is thrown into turmoil, when newly wed, she moves to London to live with her husband Len and stubborn, ruthless mother-in-law Joan. Joan is in cahoots with her nephew, wide boy and womaniser, Charlie, wheeling and dealing on the black market. As Kate gets embroiled with her new extended family, she becomes involved in an alien world for which she is totally unprepared. As World War II takes its toll and traumatic events unfold, Kate's world spirals out of control. She becomes entangled in a web of deceit and lies which come back to haunt her at the end of the war.