An eighteen-year-old girl leaves behind her mundane life in Manchester to volunteer for service on a British airbase during World War II. At first, she considers herself lucky to have escaped her boring fate, but she is nicknamed the “chop girl” after a few incidences with pilots: she had gone out with two pilots on two separate occasions and both men died soon after. People on the base begin avoiding her in case they too catch some of her bad luck.  She gets used to being alone and even believes the superstition herself after this goes on for a while, but then renowned pilot Walt Williams arrives on the base. He’s ten years older than most of the teens there and has survived three tours, making him an instant hero. She begins to watch him, notice how he doesn’t ever play the gambling games, always seems lucky. One night, at a pre-Christmas party, she wanders off on her own to pass the time because no one will dance with her. Walt approaches her and they begin to talk. He says that he doesn’t believe in the “chop girl” superstition, and then tells her about his luck; he’s always been lucky, even when his plane was shot from above and he was the only survivor, even as he throws dice in the air and catches sixes every time. Still, this luck comes at a price; he is tormented with visions of the war, even with events that haven’t happened yet, such as the atomic bombs in Japan. She understands his pain and the two bond over their shared loneliness, eventually sleeping together, which is something she’s always held back from with the other pilots. The next day, Walt leaves on a raid and doesn’t come back. His plane returns without him and the crew tells the base how a piece of metal ripped his section right out, leaving his parachute behind. The girl now fully believes the chop girl superstition, and even wonders if Walt got close to her on purpose so that he could ensure his death and escape from the tormenting dreams on the next raid. She eventually returns to her life in Manchester, but for the rest of her days carries Walt and his luck with her.