The third book in the gripping wartime drama series set around a town's department store It's summer 1942, and Lily Collins and her fellow shop girls from Marlow's department store are planning a party. Despite grim reports on the wireless and rationing hitting hard, the girls are determined to keep smiling through. But Beryl's husband Les returns from North Africa a changed man, and Gladys worries for her own fiance's safety. Marlow's is losing staff to the war effort and Lily's young man, Jim, is torn over where his duty lies. Then comes the knock on the door that everyone dreads. Lily's family, always the heart of her world, is rocked to the core. And as the year unfolds the small Midlands town - and Lily's beloved Marlow's - must face their greatest challenge yet.