Ernest Bevin's 1941 announcement that all woman between eighteen and thirty must register for war work has made Emily furious - she's just landed her dream job and the last thing she wants is to have to give it up for a bomb factory in Lancashire. The glamorous Lillian and studious Alice are not too happy either. But for downtrodden Elsie and determined Agnes, the promise of a new challenge brings renewed hope. Despite their differing outlooks, the five women forge lifelong friendships as they share experiences of love, loss, thwarted dreams and new opportunities through the darkest of times.
Daisy Styles grew up in Lancashire surrounded by a family and community of strong women. She loved to listen to their stories of life in the cotton mill, in the home, at the pub, on the dance floor, in the local church, or just what happened to them on the bus going into town. It was from these women, particularly her vibrant mother and Irish grandmother, that Daisy learnt the art of story-telling. There was also the landscape of her childhood; wide sweeping empty moors dappled with sunshine, thick with snow, slippery underfoot in the rain, hills that ran as far as the eye could see to the Pennine Way and beyond that to the Lake District. A perfect backdrop for a saga, a space big enough and wild enough to stage a drama about women's lives in a munitions factory during World War 2.
