What is Babs' real first name?
During World War I, a small diverse group of young American women leave for France to answer the urgent need for nurses, despite having little or no experience. Under the leadership of socialite Mrs. Townsend, they turn an abandoned building into a hospital.
They are soon joined by teenage blonde Joy Meadows (who later divulges to a patient she is "nearly nineteen"). Initially, she is teased for being inexperienced and coming from a privileged background. She is welcomed by Barbara "Babs" Whitney.
Babs attracts the persistent interest of Lieutenant Wally O'Brien, a fighter pilot. Joy has difficulty adjusting to the violent conditions and starts to miss her easy life on the Lower East Side in Manhattan after meeting a wounded New York soldier, Robbie Neil. She considers giving up, but Mrs. Townsend assures her that she will get used to it. Wally attempts to court Babs, but she is not vulnerable to his advances. They get acquainted, however, after Babs falls off of her bicycle and Wally takes care of her injured ankle.
Barbara