Carol Rivers

In 1940 the Isle of Dogs suffers a terrible nine-month Blitz. Amidst the death and destruction young Connie Marsh finds an orphaned baby boy in the rubble. She also finds love with handsome Vic Champion, the man who helped her rescue the child they've named Lucky, but then his call-up papers arrive and Vic leaves for the navy. Will she turn for comfort to dashing GI Clint Hershey, or will she stay true to Vic, the man she really loves?

Following her mother's untimely death, Lizzie Allen is facing desperate times. Her sweetheart Danny is heading for Australia to seek his fortune. Determined to keep her family together, heartbroken Lizzie is tricked into marriage by Danny's unscrupulous brother, Frank. Can she escape her increasingly unhappy and violent marriage and save her family? And will she ever be reunited with her one true love, former barrow-boy, Danny Flowers?

1953: 19-year-old Ruby and her friend Kath are eager to enjoy their post-war independence. Moving to the East End of London, Ruby finds work at a fashionable new dog grooming parlour. Kath isn't quite so lucky and gets a tough factory job. But then Ruby meets handsome, charming Nick Brandon - and ignores the warnings from those around her that he is trouble. Ruby wants a glamorous life - but it will come at a high cost...

Kay Lewis is determined to give her young son Alfie a merry Christmas, even though her husband, Alan, has been called up to serve his country. But when a strange woman and her son arrive on her doorstep, Kay's world is shaken to the core. Kay will have some difficult decisions to make if she is to keep the faith in the man she thought she knew.