The Night Watch, based on the novel by Sarah Waters, follows in a extraordinary way the life of gay men and lesbians during World War II in a then devastated London. While the United Kingdom tries to rebuil itself, Kay goes around the streets, pursued by a personal loss that has marked her life, at the same time as Helen and Viv start a dating agency, where they help people to rebuild their lives by means of love.

This whole structure of human relationships serves as an excuse to talk about pain, friendship and the ability of human beings to face up to reality and build a new future, defeating not only the barbarities of the war but also the social stigmas, the emotional indifference and the absurd death of loved ones.