This is a story of a confused, chaotic and repressive childhood lived in the West Country before, during and after WWII. As WWII began and rumbled along in the background of her young life, MacLeod offers a children's perspective of life in wartime Britain. Evacuees came (and went). Her father built an air-raid shelter. A plane crashed into her village. The local school children collected scrap metal for the war effort. Following the death of her mother at a young age, a tenuous relationship with her father and stepmother, and financial difficulties that prevented her achieving her dream of becoming a GP, MacLeod settled for second best. From childhood to nursing education, and ultimately State Registration, this is the tale of how The Island Nurse became an adult and began her long and fruitful career.