Set against the dramatic backdrop of the second world war and then post-war austerity, this story never slows down, with Joyce continually on the move, physically and emotionally.
From age six, Joyce learns quickly to cope with the families that her mother leaves her with – some happily, some not. She loves Daddy and occasionally he comes to visit her. He visits her on her 11th birthday, but she never sees him again.
Mother's visits are usually to remove her from her present home, and leave her somewhere else. She never understands why she has to live with another family and attend another school, always hoping this time she will live with Mother. She runs away from one home, hoping to find Mummy.
Joyce is bombed out and sent to live with her mother. It's too late, now, for them to form a relationship, but they live together through ups and downs for four years, before Joyce marries at eighteen years old.