Publisher's Synopsis
What kind of man volunteers to defend a country that is not even his own? And why would a woman push all else aside to pursue a dream? During the spring of 1940, Frank Layton, a young American, swears himself to the service of Britain's Royal Air Force. All his life he has lived in the shadow of his father's exploits in the Great War of two decades earlier, and now this great adventure provides him a chance to step out on his own. In critical shortage of pilots, the RAF throws Frank into battle and he soon becomes a leading Spitfire fighter pilot. At the outbreak of war, Rose Hill suspends her long-held dream of becoming a doctor of medicine and enlists as a Royal Army nurse. She is stationed in France with the 300,000-man British Expeditionary Force. After Germany launches its blitzkrieg invasion, her unit retreats to the beaches of Dunkirk. There, she continues to treat the wounded until evacuation back to Britain on the final day of the massive operation to rescue the BEF. During the lull following Dunkirk, Frank and Rose meet. An attraction immediately blossoms and they begin seeing each other often. But they hesitate. Their duties could separate them for years. Both are sent into harm's way every day. They refuse to even consider the possibility, but the chance of horrible death always lurks somewhere deep in the shadowy reaches of their subconscious. Can Frank and Rose ever grab the happiness they both desire? Or will the pressures of war forever keep them apart?
