Phillip must leave for France to fight against the Nazi invasion, leaving behind his lover Rosie who is heartbroken - and pregnant.
Rosie is special - her dad is a Romany horse whisperer - but not everyone thinks so. Phillip does, but then he's special too: a Cambridge undergraduate who's refused a commission to throw in his lot with the men who've volunteered for a suicide mission designed to stop the Nazi invasion. For two idyllic days they indulge their passion, but then Phillip is spirited away to France - but like many of his mates, he doesn't come back. Rosie is left heartbroken and pregnant, her only hope of refuge a Catholic home for fallen women, where she faces losing her son.