Plot

A former secretary, newly appointed as a scriptwriter for propaganda films, joins the cast and crew of a major production while the Blitz rages around them.

During the London Blitz of World War II, Catrin Cole is recruited by the British Ministry of Information to write scripts for propaganda films that the public will actually watch without scoffing. In the line of her new duties, Cole investigates the story of two young women who supposedly piloted a boat in the Dunkirk Evacuation. Although it proved a complete misapprehension, the story becomes the basis for a fictional film with some possible appeal. As Cole labors to write the script with her new colleagues such as Tom Buckley, veteran actor Ambrose Hilliard must accept that his days as a leading man are over as he joins the project. Together, this disparate trio must struggle against such complications such as sexism against Cole, jealous relatives, and political interference in their artistic decisions even as London endures the bombs of the enemy. In the face of those challenges, they share a hope to contribute something meaningful in this time of war and in their own lives.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

1940. At the height of the Blitzkrieg, Luftwaffe's heavy bombers batter relentlessly the already war-bruised London. As a result, with nearly all of England's youth dispatched overseas to fight the Nazis and the morale slowly sapping, the Film Division of the British Ministry of Information decides to lift the public spirits. Determined to inspire the nation, the talented and assertive young copywriter, Catrin Cole, joins forces with the grouchy screenwriter, Tom Buckley, to encapsulate authenticity and add the finishing touches to a film project concentrating on the heroic Dunkirk Evacuation, with the aid of pompous actor, Ambrose Hilliard. Indeed, their cause is noble; however, will they manage to capture the public's imagination?—Nick Riganas

1940, France has fallen and Britain is suffering under the onslaught from Nazi Germany. Morale is low and the British Ministry of Information sets about producing propaganda films to lift spirits. A secretary, Catrin Cole, joins the Ministry as a junior writer and is soon thrust into the production of a major film.—grantss

During the Blitz of World War II, a female screenwriter (Arterton) works on a film celebrating England's resilience as a way to buoy a weary populace's spirits. Her efforts to dramatise the true story of two sisters (Lily Knight and Francesca Knight) who undertook their own maritime mission to rescue wounded soldiers are met with mixed feelings by a dismissive all-male staff.