In the latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series,
a series of possible attacks on British pilots leads Jacqueline
Winspear's beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs into a mystery involving First
Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
October 1942. Jo Hardy, a 22-year-old ferry pilot, is delivering a
Supermarine Spitfire--the fastest fighter aircraft in the world--to
Biggin Hill Aerodrome, when she realizes someone is shooting at her
aircraft from the ground. Returning to the location on foot, she finds
an American serviceman in a barn, bound and gagged. She rescues the man,
who is handed over to the American military police; it quickly emerges
that he is considered a suspect in the disappearance of a fellow soldier
who is missing.
Tragedy strikes two days later, when another ferry pilot crashes in the
same area where Jo's plane was attacked. At the suggestion of one of her
colleagues, Jo seeks the help of psychologist and investigator Maisie
Dobbs. Meanwhile, Maisie's husband, a high-ranking political attaché
based at the American embassy, is in the thick of ensuring security is
tight for the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, during
her visit to the Britain. There's already evidence that German agents
have been circling: the wife of a president represents a high value
target. Mrs. Roosevelt is clearly in danger, and there may well be a
direct connection to the death of the woman ferry pilot and the recent
activities of two American servicemen.
To guarantee the safety of the First Lady--and of the soldier being held
in police custody--Maisie must uncover that connection. At the same
time, she faces difficulties of an entirely different nature with her
young daughter, Anna, who is experiencing wartime struggles of her own.
