When 10-year-old Willie is evacuated from the East End of London, he is chosen by Zander, 13-year-old son of an army captain, to be his companion in a rambling country house. Zander's upbringing makes him snobbish and a bully. Willie does not enjoy shooting birds, playing with toy soldiers, or boxing; his only friends are Zander's nanny, and a young soldier called Blake. His father turns up in the nearby woods, having deserted the army. The nanny gives him food till one night, in panic, Blake shoots him.