"The New Recruit" is a story about a young girl who is devastated when her father leaves the family home. Hurt by the past and unsure of the future, she retreats into her own bruised world, but through the help and understanding of Sharon, her one true friend, Susan slowly begins to heal. She was encouraged by Sharon to make music in the safe and happy environment of other young children, all intent on making their band the very best. The Victory Cadet Marching Band is a newly formed band in a small town, and all those involved are passionate about it and none more so than the band's hardworking owner and teacher, Ross Mills, who sees in Susan a gifted and natural young trumpet player; she is given the chance to suppress the past and look forward to the future with a newfound confidence. The story is set in the early 1960s, a time when two young girls could walk in safety in the evening without fear and where families could share simple pleasures and vehicles did not clog streets and pavements and in every city, town, village, there was at least one band. The Victory Cadet Marching Band was such a band.