1941. Bombs are falling all over Plymouth. Young Maisie O'Sullivan must make a choice that will change her life for ever.

Maisie yearns for a family of her own. Raised as a charity orphan in a Catholic convent in Ireland, she believed she was all alone in the world.

But when she is twelve, her world is turned upside down by a shocking revelation. She is uprooted from the only life she has ever known, and transplanted against her will to Plymouth, England.

Family might not be all it's cracked up to be. But Maisie is resilient. She surrounds herself with a family of her own making. Lovely old Zeek, her grandfather-like neighbour. Feisty Kitty, her inseparable friend. Young fisherman Nick, her kind and patient boyfriend.

Then war breaks out across Europe and a horrific tragedy occurs during one of the worst nights of the Plymouth Blitz. Maisie makes a momentous decision that will take her life in a very unexpected direction . . . But will she be able to live with the consequences?