Twelve-year old Billy Parkin has no fear of the air raids over Portsmouth until he and his sister Jess are machine-gunned on their way home from school. After another raid which ends in tragedy, their parents take them and their young sister, Shirley, to live in a converted railway carriage in the country. A World War Two historical adventure story, based on many facts, it is suitable for children of ten and upwards, and older readers who remember that war.