 In addition the sheer banality of continuing war is alluded to, and a sense of late war fatigue which began to grip Britain at this time; reference is made to miners striking for better pay, and shipyard workers stealing iron rations from lifeboats, resulting in the deaths of torpedoed sailors.As the plot develops, the author explores the social forces at work in 1943 Britain.Chas, the son of a gas fitter, embarks on a tentative relationship with Sheila, the daughter of a prominent local magistrate.