Needing to find a job, Betty Dean is sent into service at Stowford House. The work is gruelling, and her dreams of making something of herself seem further out of reach. When Betty is forced to leave after a scandalous incident, she feels that her life is over - until a new job on the trams throws her a lifeline. Meeting fellow tram girls Connie and Jean brings the joy of friendship, even if Betty struggles with having to keep secrets from her new pals. When soldier Duncan Kennedy enters Betty's life, it seems that she may finally find the love she's always wanted. But opening herself up to someone new isn't easy, and when he leaves for the front, she finds herself alone once again. As the Great War rumbles on, Betty's life in the Potteries is full of its battles. . .