The second of six children born in the tiny flat above Mr Popov’s Islington piano factory, Rose Humble is used to holding her own in the world. But as war begins to cast its shadow over her family, Rose realises there are some problems a quick wit and a ready tongue cannot solve. And as she grows older she also comes to see there are people who are not all they seem. Like her own sister, Queenie, and the charming young man Rosie believes to be the love of her life. Though Rose cannot forget how those she trusted hurt her, her disappointments are put into context when the bombing starts in earnest and, as an ambulancewoman, she witnesses suffering she never dreamed she’d see on the streets of London. Then she meets a young firefighter who forces her to re-think her world once more…