The minute Letty Edginton becomes a munitionette in the Royal Woolwich Arsenal her life changes for ever. From the misery of her family home in well-to-do Islington, she finds herself a part of a world where girls wear make-up, boys whistle and Friday night means stewed eels, mash and perhaps a trip down the Finsbury Park Empire. And when Vi Hobbs, self-styled queen of the shell-filling shop, introduces her to her wounded brother Ollie, even the loss of Letty’s own soldier-brother seems a little less hard to bear.  Before long Letty and Ollie have fallen hopelessly in love, and they marry and make their home in north London. Ahead of them lie years of happiness and struggle: another dreadful war, the bringing up of three sons, family tragedy and, for some, undreamt-of success. And through it all, Letty’s unswerving love drives them forward, through all the bitterness, hardship and heartfelt joy that make up family life in our changing times.