Author Q&A
It is 1940, and the neighbours in April Grove are close-knit, patriotic and proud - but the onset of the Blitz tests their loyalties and courage as never before. Betty Chapman meets a devastatingly attractive man in the Land Army, who upsets all her settled ideas; Olive Harker, just married, must now decide whether to risk motherhood; and Nancy Baxter offers comfort to lonely serviceman, while her son runs wild . . . Their stories are played out against the backdrop of a great seaport at war: the horror of the air raid sirens, the naval dockyards buzzing with activity, and the overwhelming desire to survive the city's darkest hour . . .