The Crimson Field

Kitty Trevelyan tries to put the troubles of her past behind her as she joins two other girls, Flora Marshall and Rosalie Berwick, to volunteer at one of the busiest war hospitals in northern France. As the three volunteer nurses settle into their first day, it soon becomes clear that no training could ever have prepared them for the reality of working near the front line.

Despite struggling with personal problems, Kitty throws herself into her work, helping new patients Major Crecy and Private Byeford. Crecy awakens from the brink of death to find his troops have been decimated. Meanwhile, the hospital readies for a convoy of new patients. Joan views it as a chance for the volunteers' skills to be put to good use, but Margaret doesn't think they're ready.

While Thomas may not be making much headway with Kitty, he is having more success on the wards with a pioneering wound irrigation system. Thomas's test subject is doing well, but an old-school surgeon, Major Yelland, is dismissive of his techniques and seems determined to bully him. Elsewhere, a terrified patient faces court martial, and Rosalie spots the engagement ring Joan secretly wears.

Joan's spirits are lifted by the arrival of thirteen men from her hometown of Liverpool. However, Joan discovers that one of them is much sicker than she thought, and she finds herself the victim of blackmail. Thomas seizes his opportunity to pursue Kitty, but when she gets a shocking summons to meet with a mysterious figure from home, it's Miles who comes to her aid.

Armed with her knowledge of Punjabi and an upbringing in India, Grace tries to diffuse tensions between the colonel of a Sikh regiment and a young private. Flora decides the volunteers should put on some entertainment to raise spirits, but as the pressure mounts, so do Flora's nerves. Meanwhile Joan is still waiting for news from her fiancé.

Joan is hauled up on a charge of aiding the enemy, and her actions send ripples through the hospital. Roland is accused of letting the rules slide and bringing the RAMC into disrepute. Kitty's wracked with guilt and desperate for someone to trust, but will it be Thomas or Miles that she turns to? Peter has a difficult decision to make, and Rosalie's morals are challenged.