The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight; but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission. While shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie realizes his father is in a hospital close by; a hospital treating soldiers with shell shock. Alfie isn't sure what shell shock is, but he is determined to rescue his father.