Sometimes the right choice is the hardest of all.

In the autumn of 1942, fifteen-year-old Ruby is collected from her aunt's guesthouse by her grandfather and taken to live with him in a small Lancashire village. A few days after her arrival, American GIs take over a nearby army camp, but although the young black soldiers are ready to help with the war effort, they are mistrusted by their own army officers, and spend their time in the village.

Before long tension rises between the troops and the locals, some of whom still have embedded racial prejudices. As the village becomes increasingly divided, Ruby and her friends must struggle with first love, dangerous friendships and the difficultly of doing what is right in a chaotic and unfair world.