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Chapters (117)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. The Cast of Characters
  6. CHAPTER ONE
  7. The Recruits
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. The Missions
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  64. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  65. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  66. The Game
  67. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  71. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  73. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  74. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  75. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  76. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  77. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  78. CHAPTER SEVENTY
  79. CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
  80. CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
  81. CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
  82. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
  83. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
  84. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
  85. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
  86. CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
  87. CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
  88. CHAPTER EIGHTY
  89. CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
  90. CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
  91. CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
  92. CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
  93. HOME
  94. CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
  95. CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX
  96. CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
  97. CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
  98. CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
  99. CHAPTER NINETY
  100. CHAPTER NINETY-ONE
  101. CHAPTER NINETY-TWO
  102. CHAPTER NINETY-THREE
  103. CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR
  104. CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE
  105. CHAPTER NINETY-SIX
  106. CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN
  107. CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT
  108. CHAPTER NINETY-NINE
  109. CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED
  110. CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED ONE
  111. Acknowledgments
  112. Discover More
  113. About the Author
  114. Reading Group Guide
  115. Discussion Questions
  116. A Conversation with Leila Meacham
  117. ALSO BY LEILA MEACHAM

When he finally arrived at SD headquarters and asked to speak to Colonel Derrick Albrecht, he was told by a desk clerk that the colonel was in a meeting and under no circumstances would he disturb him. The flurry of activity and the sounds of ringing telephones, teletype machines clicking, typewriters clacking away, and the tight faces of the SD staff told the stakeout man that something serious had happened. On the metro, he’d been aware of an atmosphere of suppressed excitement. Passengers had seemed more restive than usual, but he’d been too absorbed with his own set of worries to wonder why, and he knew better than to put the question to the desk sergeant. “Please, it’s urgent, Sergeant,” he pleaded.

“I will not risk my neck for yours, whoever you are,” the sergeant barked. “Leave your message. I will get it to the colonel when the meeting is over.”

The watchman handed over his report. “You must get that to him as soon as possible,” he said, “or it will be your neck in the noose.”

It was the sixth of June, 1944. In the predawn darkness of that morning, American, British, and Canadian forces, in simultaneous amphibious attacks, had come ashore on five separate beaches along the Normandy coastline. The Allied invasion of France was underway.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

The Allies’ landing on the coast of Normandy came as a surprise to the Germans, who had believed poor weather conditions would delay the invasion. That day, troops had been allowed to relax from their guard duties along the Atlantic Wall and other coastal defense fronts, numerous senior officers had not returned from their weekends, and many German artillery units and their commanders were on maneuvers away from their posts. Even Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had treated himself to a few days’ leave to attend the celebration of his wife’s birthday. Parisians learned about the landings when news filtered into their city through underground newspapers, hidden radios tuned to the BBC, and pamphlets distributed secretly by the French Resistance. The French citizenry was jubilant. Liberation was at hand.

Tuesday night, Bridgette slept with her small bed pulled close to the armoire should the major contact her beyond their normal transmission times. He seemed never to go to bed. Sure enough, before dawn on June 7, she was awakened by the clickety-clack of an incoming message and leaped out of bed to transcribe it. It was an alert from Major Renault. That morning, just as a pale daybreak allowed enough light to see, Bridgette defied curfew to slip out of the convent with her paintbrush to stroke in the code signal on a liverwort plant to warn Victoria that her safe house had been compromised. The girl had nowhere to go should she have to go on the run.