For Rose Lucas, a spirited, intelligent girl, born into a large family in the slums of pre-war Birmingham, life is limited and hard. But through her friendship with Diana, daughter of a vicar from middle-class Moseley, she learns to aspire to a different and better existence and vows never to become a child-bearing drudge like her mother.
Life, however, seldom follows the way of dreams. After a childhood marked by tragedy, she eventually finds and loses the love for which she has striven so hard. From Italy, where she has travelled during the Second World War, she is forced to return to Birmingham and an unhappy marriage, her hopes and illusions shattered.
Finally, after further struggle, she leaves the beloved city of her childhood as it rises from the ashes of its bombed devastation. For the powerful spirit of Rose will not be defeated . . .
.jpg)
.jpg)
