Abandoned by her mother and left with a father who couldn’t cope alone, Ann is bewildered as events overtake her. She begins a new life in a village far away from home. A new family, a new school, a loving Aunt and Uncle, but best of all, a new friend - her cousin Peter. She becomes happily settled, but then her father re-marries and wants Ann to live with him, and she is uprooted again. The new mum is strict, disliked by all, and does not seem to like Ann. Ann knows she cannot get away and must make the best of what life offers during the ongoing war at home. She makes friends with a refugee and his sister and enjoys a visit from her cousin, during which time they have quite an adventure.

In Ann’s War by Pat Jones, follow Ann as she grows up and begins finding a way of living with her new Mum and tries hard to understand why she is always so cross.