Three middle-class sixth-form girls leave their independent boarding school in the summer of 1918. They are told by their headmistress that their prospects of marriage have been reduced following the Great War. Vera, determined to get the most out of life in a changing world, marries David, a wounded officer and veteran of the war. Their lives as tenant farmers are threatened by the prospect of losing their livelihoods. Against a backdrop of agricultural depression they struggle to achieve their dreams. Meanwhile Lillian, talented and attractive, finds little time for marriage during her busy career as an actress and singer. Dotty finds work as a secretary and seems destined for spinsterhood – but this is a rapidly changing world, and no-one knows what lies ahead.