Colonial Trinidad 1939. Three sisters endure a mundane but privileged life in the capital, Port of Spain. Living with their simpleton brother and his domineering wife, the women pass the time entertaining and being entertained by the local Volunteer Regiment. They occupy their lives with empty marriages and petty liasons whilst dreaming of returning to their adopted home country Cambridge, England where they spent their cosmopolitan youth.

But hopes of emigrating to Britain are soon shattered as the European war escalates into a global conflict, Port of Spain is bombed and the Trinidadian soldiers are called to serve King, country and Empire.