It is 1942 and America's entry into the war brings dramatic changes to Pontypridd. The arrival of a South Carolina regiment delights some girls but others resent the free-spending, flash uniformed foreigners. Bethan John, her husband a captive in Germany, and her friend Alma, whose husband is missing, find friendship with the officers billeted in their homes - friendships misunderstood by the even the women themselves. Jenny Powell, a young, bitter war widow, goes from one man's bed to another, finding solace in none. Her sister-in-law Jane, who at least sees her husband occasionally, finds it hard to resist the allure of the Yanks. Gossip thrives, wrecking families and marriages, and when tragedy strikes the mines the tension reaches breaking point. Caught between loyalty to their men and the exotic appeal of the GIs, the women of Pontypridd fight for their emotional - and sometimes physical - survival. . .