Eighteen-year-old Connie Baxter works as an usherette at the Criterion Picture House in Gosport. Here she meets Vera a cleaner at the cinema and her niece Babs who sells ice creams. But when Connie falls for the charming Tommo Smith her friendships are tested. When Tommo tells her that he's a dancing instructor at a local club her eyes light up. As Connie struggles with the harsh realities of war she comes to realise that life isn't always like the pictures…