This play follows the course of World War II as experienced by a working-class family in Newcastle, each scene being opened by a member of the family addressing the audience or singing a song of the period. In wartime there are no public worries, only private worries, and this story of the family's personal relationships, preoccupations, troubles and joys suggests, perhaps, the reason why with all the perils and troubles besieging it the human race will continue to survive.