SINGAPORE, 5 DECEMBER 1941: Due to lack of information from the Army and the media, most of the inhabitants of Singapore remain blissfully unaware of any danger in their lives. Then the Japanese land 400 miles north of the city and head south. Most of the women who will end up imprisoned are introduced: Marion Jefferson, Sister Ulrica, Christina Campbell, Nurses Kate Norris and Nellie Keene, Rose Millar, and Dr Beatrice Mason.

SINGAPORE, 10 DECEMBER 1941: The aftermath of the Japanese bombing of Singapore causes the evacuation of many of the British civilians in Singapore. Marion, Christina, Kate, Nellie, Rose, Tom (Kate's boyfriend) and Bernard (Rose's boyfriend) are evacuated, but the ship is torpedoed. Surviving the wreck, the group is taken prisoner by the Japanese.

KAMPONG GETAH, FEBRUARY 1942: Joined by others, including Beatrice, the women are taken to their internment camp, where a contingent of Dutch internees join them, including Sister Ulrica. Everyone makes adjustments to their new way of life, and Marion is made leader of the British internees.

Ulrica is made leader of the Dutch internees. The older women worry when the younger women are unexpectly removed from the camp, but it turns out they're being used for labor crews. Dorothy smuggles milk into the camp for her baby, but is caught, and everyone is punished

Some time having passed, social structure in the camp is breaking down, and more women are becoming sick. Some groups refuse to help other groups. Malaria makes its first appearance, and requests for quinine are denied. Marion organizes education and entertainment committees, and arranges for the women to rebuild one of the huts into a sickbay. Morale improves, at least until two Japanese secret policemen arrive at the camp.

Marion is questioned about British organization in Singapore prior to the fall of the city. The new sickbay is completed. Blanche and Dorothy become friendly with the guards in exchange for cigarettes and tea. Blanche, Dorothy and Rose are cornered by three guards; when all six are caught, the Japanese commander accuses the women of lying about the almost-rape. Dorothy agrees with the him, causing Blanche and Rose to be punished, until their story is corroborated by other sources.

Sally, pregnant before her capture, is coming into her seventh month of pregnancy, and one of the nurses, Nellie, becomes very supportive of her. When the baby is stillborn, their friendship becomes closer, until they hear unwarranted rumors that their friendship is `unnatural'. Judith Bowen has another attack of malaria, making Blanche wonder about all of their eventual fates.

Just before Judith Bowen dies, Marion promises her that she'll take care of Debbie. Blanche becomes determined to escape from the camp. Debbie discovers Blanche's escape plans and barges her way into the escape attempt. Rose covers the escape until she realises that Debbie is also leaving; she tells Marion, who tells the commandant in hopes that he will be lenient with Debbie. Blanche and Debbie are re- captured.

Punishment details are imposed on the camp in general and the escapees in particular. The commandant yields to Marion's plea for mercy for Debbie, and agrees to be release Blanche if the internees will make 500 work hats in the next seven days. The Dutch, angry that they are again being punished for British misbehaviour, insist that both groups should now be treated seperately, until they discover that making hats will release Blanche. The commandant releases the internees from punishment details on the last day, allowing the women to meet the deadline.

Christmas is approaching. The work party reports seeing a group of men in the distance. When Marion asks the commandant for names of the men, the list causes both joy and disappointment. The women are told they will be going to another camp. The commandant reveals his long-time knowledge and support of the women's subterfuge's to steal paper from his office. The women leave the camp, uncertain of their future

DECEMBER 1942: The women have been split up as they march to their new camp and Marion's group later learns that the second group, including Blanche, Nellie and Sylvia, are being sent to another camp and won't be rejoining them. On the way, they pick up elderly Joss Holbrook during an overnight stay at an abandoned house, left behind by another party for being too ill but who has now recovered fine. Debbie dies when she is bitten by something on the journey and the women insist on giving her a proper burial, at which point Marion learns the Bowens were Jewish. The bedraggled, depleted party arrive at their new camp on January 1st 1943.

1 JANUARY 1943: The internees adjust to life in their new camp, where things are radically different and seemingly much more luxurious than the last one, but soon realise that luxury always has its price. The leader of the women there is Verna Johnson, who's a scheming collaborator in league with Miss Hasan, interpreter to the Commandant, Lt Nakamura. No sooner have they arrived at the camp than Christina is taken away from her friends and sent to another camp on a lorry. Marion is reunited with an old school friend, Lillian Cartland, and her little boy Bobby. Bea finds she must defer to the camp's medic, Dr Natalie Trier. Kate conceals the fact she is a nurse and Sally's attitude to life deteriorates rapidly.

2 JANUARY 1943: The ridiculous restrictions of the new camp, such as no swearing, leave the women restless, especially Dorothy and Joss. Dorothy agrees to teach Shinya how to speak English. Marion clashes with Verna over responsibility for ""her women"" but Miss Hasan insists that Verna is the one and only leader and they must obey her. Kate and Rose try to get news on their men from the male camp and Dr Trier tries to get Bea better and back in the infirmary with her. Meanwhile, the women are dressed up in fancy clothes and make-up for a propoganda photo, but the day is ruined when the depressed Sally commits suicide by slashing her wrists with a broken mirror. The Japs come down heavy on everyone as the ladies reel from the shock of Sally's sudden death.

15 JANUARY 1943: Punishment continues to be severe following Sally's death. Rations are cut and workloads increased. Mrs Van Meyer finds out that Joss is in fact a lady, and starts sucking up to her with no shame. Sister Ulrica goes to the priest for confession and confesses to helping with Sally's funeral, even though since she killed herself it is regarded as a terrible sin. As penance, she has to keep away from the other women and not speak to them at all. The priest says they have led her away from God. Dorothy reveals she is pregnant to one of the guards and wants to abort the baby, which prompts a shocked Sister Ulrica to break her silence.

Sister Ulrica tries to talk Dorothy out of aborting the baby: she says that its either that or she will kill herself. Verna and Miss Hasan arrange for her to have an abortion next day, but then they find out that the new district commander is coming to visit and shove them all in a storeroom for the procedure. The new commander turns out to be the newly promoted Major Yamauchi, who expresses displeasure at the camp hierarchy and replaces Nakamura with Sato, now a lieutenant. When the priest visits again and Sister Ulrica tells him she helped Dorothy get rid of her baby, he arranges for her to leave the camp and continue her imprisonment at a convent. Leaving, she tells Bea that she knew how to be a nun but she didn't know how to be a woman until she met them all.

31 MARCH 1943: Marion asks Yamauchi about Christina and the other women from the first camp; next day, Christina and Blanche are returned to join their friends. Bea is crestfallen that they have sent Blanche back and not Nellie. Blanche finds out about Debbie's death and blames Rose for telling the guards about their escape. She teams up with the irrepressible Joss to put one over on the guards. The women learn that some of them are to be repatriated (ie sent home) and Lillian gets her hopes up that she and Bobby will be on the list. When the list comes in, they aren't on it but Dr Trier is. Christina is contacted by the underground, and passes on the news that Rose's boyfriend Bernard and Kate's fiance Tom are both alive and at the nearby men's camp.

22 APRIL 1943: With Christina's help, Rose and Bernard arrange to sneak out of their camps and meet up in the jungle on the night of the Emperor's Birthday, when the guards will be busy at a party. Blanche goes with Rose to act as escort to the meeting place. Rose and Bernard meet and decide to get married when the war is over and they are free. Back at the camp, Kate and Marion learn of the meeting just as the guards do too. Sato orders them all into the jungle to find Rose and Bernard: the women watch them leave and are horrified when shots ring out into the night... Meanwhile, Christina decides she doesn't want to be courier for the underground any more. Joss and Blanche make plans against the guards and Lillian continues to obsess about Bobby's health. Dr Trier is repatriated, leaving Bea in charge of the infirmary. Kate considers becoming a doctor after the war.

30 APRIL 1943: The internees suffer severe punishments following Rose's escape. She is brought back to the camp alive, but shot in the back; Bernard was killed at the scene. Bea and Kate operate on Rose to remove the bullet and all of the women provide items for them to use in the surgery, even Verna. When Rose wakes up, she is paralysed from the waist down. Yamauchi and Miss Hasan try to find out how she kept in contact with Bernard. Blanche finds it hard to visit Rose after the shooting. Shinya tells Dorothy that one of the women informed on Rose and everyone suspects Christina of being responsible. She is put before the disciplinary committee and gets back a Not Proven verdict. Marion catches Lillian giving Bobby unusual food items and realises she was the informer, to get extra food for Bobby.

12 MAY 1943: Lillian and Bobby are transferred to another camp by Yamauchi following Marion's request, when the other women and children bully them both and refuse to have anything else to do with them. The effects of Rose's shooting still reverberate around the camp: Dorothy cuts all ties with Shinya when she learns it was him who shot Rose. Two months pass and Rose is still hanging on to life, but has lost the will to live. She tries to go on a hunger strike, earning the wrath of Miss Hasan, and later asks Bea to put her out of her misery. Next morning, Bea announces that Rose has died in her sleep but whether she helped her die or not is never revealed.

3 SEPTEMBER 1943: Conditions continue to worsen inside the camp, not helped any by a drought and an increased work load. Marion's diary is burned by the guards. The prisoners discover that Red Cross Parcels have been sent to the camp but not given to the women - Verna tells them they were kept from them in the aftermath of Rose's escape but Marion works out that was a lie and realises the contents of the parcels have been sold on to them by Verna. Dorothy forgives Shinya for shooting Rose as he prepares to leave for the front. Next day, an allied plane bombs the camp while trying to bomb Yamauchi's headquarters, killing Miss Hasan and Shinya and seriously wounding Daisy and Sato. Led by Blanche, the women takes advantage of the incident to raid the storerooms and steal the Red Cross parcels. Yamauchi shows up in the middle of it all and orders them to stop.