July 1943. The men find it difficult to readjust to life away from combat, provoked by various situations. Jean's bequest of shares in her family firm to her five children and not to her widower Edwin, concerns her brother Sefton.
November 1943. Sheila and David reunite at the Welsh farm where their children have been evacuated, and try to evaluate what remains of their relationship.
January 1944. Margaret and her father-in-law, open with each other, bond at her home. Meanwhile her husband John has an awkward meeting with his difficult mother at a station cafe and her spite exposes a secret. When the four meet, relationships change irrevocably.
May 1944. Sefton schemes to get control of the family company. His sister returns to England from Australia. David tries hard to reconnect with Sheila, but needs a loan from Sefton to make it happen.
May/ June 1944. Anticipation of the invasion of France grows and at a seaside town, Tony finds that his girlfriend has her own wartime secrets. Coming to find him, Sefton and Edwin are forced by circumstances to make a very odd couple.
June 1944. The V-rocket bombings on London seem very far from Liverpool and people remark how things are almost normal. However, Sefton's vulgar lady-friend upsets his household, and the more relaxed general morality surprises everybody at a garden fundraiser.
July 1944. The family assess the future possibilities of the Welfare State, but there are problems from the past that need to be addressed by Ian and Harry.
February 1945. With everybody's encouragement, Sheila tries to move forward with her life and her divorce, but David is determined to stand in her way.
August 1945. Sheila and David can finally bring their children home from evacuation in Wales, and Freda attempts to help an old friend. But neither plan runs smoothly. However, Edwin finally sees possibilities in the post-war world.
November 1945. Edwin makes a difficult journey to Germany to uncover the details surrounding Philip's last days before his death in an explosion. However he finds the occupying British Army uncooperative, and conditions for the Germans shocking.
December 1945. Looking to the future, the family contemplate moving homes, with some needing more space and some less. And Sefton's schemes finally catch up with him.
December 1945. The family's preparations for their first Christmas in peacetime cause Edwin to reflect on past events, and how best he can assist them all for the future.
