It is the winter of 1943. The United States, deep into World War II, relies upon women to help build war ships. Thinking this is more essential than typing legal briefs, twenty-year-old Zelda gets a job release to become an electric arc welder at Kearny Federal Shipyard. One day, she and car-pool buddy, Janice, are assigned to work on the top deck of a destroyer escort. But Janice doesn't show up on the DE or for the ride home. Something is terribly wrong. Zelda vows to find her missing friend, despite their leering foreman and the obstacles he puts in her way.