Set in 1914, lodger Sam and his married landlady, Ann (10 lears his senior), fall in love. He marries a tart who falsely claims to be pregnant. But, when he returns from the war that killed his landlady's husband, he finds his wife with another man. He returns to his first love, Ann. But the widow has remarried.

Does a boy with an unsettled home life stand a chance?

Corporal Halliday reflects on his life's achievements and wonders where it all leads him.