St Quentin, Northern France, Spring 1918

The enemy offensive is underway. Cut off from the Allied front line, their numbers dwindling, the survivors of a beleaguered redoubt continue to engage the German juggernaut. Death, dressed as glorious defeat, is imminent. Or is it? An invitation to surrender offers deliverance, but the colonel is adamant. There will be no surrender. The men will do their duty. They must fight to the death. Exasperated, his captain begs him to reconsider. But the colonel remains defiant: here they will stand, and here they will die. With time running out, will the captain intervene?

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Keswick, Northern England, Autumn 1966​

After returning home to bury her mother, Grace Connolly accepts a teaching post at Grey Stones, a boarding school situated on the banks of Derwentwater. Rooting through her mother's belongings, she discovers a photograph of Michael Edwards, a former headmaster of the school. Could he be the father she never knew? Desperate for answers, Grace enlists the help of a colleague, Robert Cole. Michael Edwards, it transpires, was murdered in 1941.

 

Deflated by a dearth of information, Grace accepts the help of three boarders who access the school archive in search of Michael Edwards. As the narrative alternates between past and present, a trail of murder, desertion and blackmail emerges that threatens the reputation of two heroes of the First World War. But can the evidence be trusted, and if so, must history be rewritten?

 

Courage, friendship, honour and duty, seasoned with guilt, betrayal, and a pinch of innocence, are fed into the mix before the truth is revealed.

 

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