 In the spring of 1945, World War II is coming to a close. Roger Halyard (Leo Genn), a dignified, strait-laced Englishmen, lives on a South Sea atoll with his three daughters, Gloria (Dorothy Bromley), Hester (Audrey Dalton) and Violet (Joan Elan), along with the housekeeper, Thelma (Elsa Lancaster), who has raised the girls since childhood. Other than their father, the girls have never seen another man. Halyard is informed that 1500 U.S. Marines will soon arrive to establish an air base on the island. Halyard is rather apprehensive over the prospect of his daughters, who have never met another man, being thrown together with 1500 Marines who haven t seen a woman in months.