In late 1942 Margaret Glenmore realises that daughter Joyce, who is doing a secretarial course, will probably be manpowered into a war job soon, when the age limit is dropped to 18. Her other daughter, Lillian, is coughing a lot and an x-ray has shown a spot on her lung. Lillian needs to live in a healthy environment with lots of good food. These factors combine to make Margaret decide to send the girls to live with their grandparents on a small dairy farm on the coast. Lillian's diary begins in 1943 when she and Joyce travel north to Warkworth to stay with their grandparents. Neither girl is keen to go. But at the end of February the US troops arrive - all 5,000 of them - and life becomes more exciting!