A captivating tale of forbidden passion and wartime friendship from the bestselling author of THE WILLOW POOL and ONE SUMMER AT DEER'S LEAP.It's 1940 and the threat of invasion hangs over Britain. But in the isolated hamlet of Nun Ainsty it is the arrival of the Army that turns things turned upside down - especially for two young women.Lorna Hatherwood, married to a man ten years older, lives a quiet life. Then she volunteers to read to blind soldiers at the nearby Manor and everything changes - because of a handsome medical officer named Ewan MacMillan. But their relationship could spell disaster...Then there is Ness Nightingale. A Land Girl billeted with Lorna, Ness is trying to forget a disastrous love affair. But when she meets Mick Hardie, a conscientious objector, she has to remind herself that she has vowed never to trust a man again ...