The Kitchen Front

Britain is two years into World War II and feeling the strain. The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has flattened cities, and U-boats have cut off food supplies. To help housewives cope with rationing, the BBC radio program The Kitchen Front launches a cooking contest. The winner will become the program's first female co-host.

Four very different women enter, and each sees the prize as a way out. A young widow needs to clear her late husband's debts and keep a roof over her children. A kitchen maid wants to escape a life of servitude. A lady of the manor hopes to get away from her wealthy husband's growing hostility. A trained chef wants to take on the men who dominate her profession.

All four throw themselves into the competition, even if that sometimes means bending the rules. With so much riding on the result, a contest meant to bring the community together may end up pulling it apart.

Jennifer Ryan is also the author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir.