In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.

Following a group of five very different student nurses during their first year of training at an NHS hospital in London called St. Augustine’s Hospital (filmed at Guy's Hospital), where they live in a dormitory. Susan (Belinda Lee) is reliable and sensible; Pat (Delphi Lawrence) is flighty and open; Maureen (Adrienne Corri) is Irish and loud; Ann (Henryetta Edwards) is a typical public school girl; and Liz (Barbara Archer) comes from a typical working class background. As they get to know each other, they bond in spite of their differences.