World War I battlefield nurse Bess Crawford is on leave and ready to visit her family when she’s done in by a good deed. Crawford, who is planning to spend a night at her London flat before heading to her parents’ house, doesn’t have the heart to turn away a young woman she finds huddled by the front door. She urges the woman to come inside for a cup of tea and warm up because the weather is rainy and cold.

The woman, who is sporting a black eye, finally agrees and spends the night. She tells Crawford that her husband hit her and she’s afraid to return home. She asks Crawford to return with her, and pretend to be an old friend.