Absent Without Leave on AllMovie

"Ed" Edwards (Craig McLachlan) has only recently gotten married, when he is drafted in to the army in New Zealand in 1942. He is very much afraid that he will be sent overseas, and that his young wife Daisy (Katrina Hobbs) will be left to fend for herself. At about the same time he finds out that she has suffered a miscarriage, a rumor begins going around that his unit will be shipping out to fight the Japanese. He is desperately worried about his wife, and takes off to see her without getting permission to do so. Technically, he is already a deserter, but some leniency might be extended to him if he is able to return soon. He helps her find a new place to live, and then cannot bring himself to leave her. When the authorities finally catch up with him, he has earned himself a hefty prison sentence and Daisy is indeed left to fend for herself.