Part of Series
1942 France and occupied Europe groan under the weight of the German yoke. Sophie Bélanger, grieving the deaths of her brother and friends, has questions nobody has answers to. She cannot stand on the sidelines and gets increasingly involved in helping save those on the run, be they downed airmen or Jewish children, until she is forced to flee to the non-occupied zone. There, her medical skills take her to the French camp of Rivesaltes, until one day her luck runs out. The death of her brother at the hands of the Germans makes Adèle Bélanger shed her socialite pretensions. She draws on an unexpected, inner well of courage to help her avenge her brother’s death. Her ambition is to rid her country of the German occupiers. Trained by the SOE to set France ablaze, she in turn trains maquisards in guerrilla warfare, despite the horrendous cost to innocent civilians. Will the decisions the twin sisters make lead to love or annihilation?
Author
Rachel Wesson was born in Kilkenny, Ireland but considers herself to be from the capital, Dublin as that's where she spent most of her life. Her dad brought Rachel and her two sisters out every Saturday to give their mother a break. He took them to the library and for ice-cream after. It took a long time for her sisters to forgive her for the hours she spent choosing her books! She grew up driving everyone nuts asking them questions about what they did during the War or what side they were on in the 1916 rising etc. Finally her Granny told her to write her stories down so people would get the pleasure of reading them. In fact what Granny meant was everyone would get some peace while Rachel was busy writing! When not writing, or annoying relatives, Rachel was reading. Her report cards from school commented on her love of reading especially when she should have been learning. Seems you can't read Great Expectations in Maths. After a doomed love affair and an unpleasant bank raid during which she defended herself with a tea tray, she headed to London for a couple of years. (There is a reason she doesn't write romance!). She never intended staying but a chance meeting with the man of her dreams put paid to any return to Ireland. Having spent most of her career in the City, she decided something was missing. Working in the City is great but it's a young person's dream. Having three children you never see isn't good for anyone. So she packed in the job and started writing. Thanks to her amazing readers, that writing turned into a career far more exciting and rewarding than any other. Rachel lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, two boys and a girl. When not reading, writing or watching films for "research" purposes, Rachel likes to hang out with her family. She also travels regularly back home - in fact she should have shares in BA and Aerlingus.
