November 1854, Scutari: a slim, upper-class Englishwoman disembarks ship, staggering from seasickness. Her name is Florence Nightingale, and she is on a mission to save the thousands of soldiers injured in the disastrous Crimean War.
On arrival at the barrack hospital, she and her team of nurses discover a scene of horror: Blood-soaked bandages; no clean water; rats scuttling everywhere. Florence worked 22 hours a day for those soldiers - no wonder they kissed her shadow when she walked through the wards carrying her famous lamp. By the time she returned to England, she was a celebrity. Everyone was talking about the heroine of the Crimea . . .
