The action moves to North Africa, where the paths of Adam and Gerry cross again. The final, most thrilling, part of the book takes place in the aftermath of the D-Day landings in 1944. By now Tomazewski is a bomber pilot, flying Halifaxes, while Cunningham is a high-ranking agent with Special Operations. In a cruel twist, Adam is ordered to take Gerry and his men on a mission over northern France, with the aim of dropping them by parachute behind enemy lines. But when the Halifax is attacked, Adam and his crew are forced to bale out along with Gerry’s group. They end up working together alongside the French Resistance in reconnaissance and raiding operations against German targets. In the midst of these dangerous adventures, Adam is embroiled in romantic heartache again, this time with a brave young woman from the Resistance, only for Gerry to commit another of his perceived acts of treachery.

The French saga reaches a bloody climax in a remote forest where the British are encamped, the sound of gunfire, shattering glass and screeching wheels echoing through the trees. It is only in the very final pages, at a military reunion 45 years later, that we find out what actually happened in this lethal denouement. It is a poignant end to an enthralling tale, and I hope not the last of Bishop’s wartime novels.

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