Ten year old Billy Watson and his cat Toby are now homless after the last blitz on Liverpool. He lost his mother after his home took a direct hit. Her death never bothered him because she had found him more of a burden than a son. His father was with the army fighting oversea's in Europe. Billy was now on the run from the local authority who wanted him off the streets and placed in the local orphanage. Befriended by a nurse and helped by the Pierhead landing stage dockers Billy fell in love with the Empress; a white miltary hospital ship. She always docked in Liverpool bringing the wounded back from several war zones. Billy was always waiting for her to see if she had brought his father home. Living rough in the woods during the bad winter of 1942 and always protecting his true friend Toby. Billy always stayed one step in front of the law until he decided to stowaway on the Empress for a round trip into a war zone. Events take a turn for the worse and Billy was back where he loves, living in his makeshift shelter in the middle of the woods until one fateful day.