David Powlett-Jones, a coal miner's son from South Wales, has risen from the ranks and been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the First World War.

[3] Writing for The New York Times, John J. O'Connor described the production as "a richly textured tapestry crammed with the social details that were the speciality of Mr. Delderfield",[4] with "a steady flow of insightful and touching moments".

[2][4] People magazine called the series a "colorful chronicle of post-World War I England that never crosses over to the gooey side of sentiment.

"[5] In a review for the DVD release in 2011, PopMatters was less enthusiastic, calling Delderfield's material "inconsequential" and writing: "The action veers sluggishly from the mildly diverting to the excruciatingly dull."

The review summarised the series as "basically a dated, dull, tiresome, tedious old drama by an author whose reputation is far from robust.