When Kitty is invited to stay with her friend Partita at Bauders Castle she is sure she must refuse. Her mother, however, sees it as an undreamed-of opportunity for her daughter to escape from the dark presence of her notorious father, and pawns her engagement ring to enable Kitty to go. Partita's parents are enchanted by Kitty and she soon becomes part of their privileged and glamorous lifestyle. It seems that the family's grand way of life is unassailable, but it is not. After one last idyllic seaside holiday, war is declared. The young men cannot wait to volunteer, while the girls go on nursing courses, and the castle becomes a convalescent home. They are sure that the war will be over in a few weeks, but once the wounded start arriving from the Front, the harsh reality of conflict becomes clear to them all, none more so than Kitty and Partita.
