The trilogy—Long Summer Day, Post of Honour, and The Green Gauntlet—explores Britain's dramatic social, economic, and political changes during this transformative era while emphasizing community, tradition, and resilience themes.

The novels are all set in south Devon, where the main character, Paul Craddock, buys an estate after serving with the Imperial Yeomanry in the Boer War.

The first novel covers the years of the long "Edwardian afternoon" after the death of Queen Victoria, including the postponement of the coronation of King Edward VII, the Liberal landslide of 1906 and the coronation of King George V. The story follows the trials and tribulations of Craddock and, later, his second wife and their growing family.

Part one picks up the story of the Craddock family in February 1942 and runs through the rest of the Second World War to the culmination of the D-Day landings.

[1] The first novel and the World War I portion of the second were dramatised in a BBC 13-part television serial produced by Ken Riddington, starring Nigel Havers, Prunella Ransome and Glyn Houston.