Liverpool 1915 Martha Rossi lives in a tenement with her husband and their five children Despite working all the hours she can, the family don't have much to get by on When Martha's fourteen-year-old son, Joe, proudly enlists to fight for his country just to earn his mother an extra shilling, Martha is horrified She realises the government is turning a blind eye to the scores of young boys who are joining the army Despite her pleas and protests, Joe is dispatched to France within weeks Unbeknownst to them all, Joe's act of selfless heroism will have huge implications for Martha and all the family