The Arrow’s Arc

by John Wilcox

First published 2018

Amazon

4.1(340)

In the winter of 1944, Welsh rear gunner Bill Gladwin is on the final flight of his second operational tour when his bomber is shot down over occupied France. A French couple hide him from the Gestapo while arrangements are made for an escape route back to Britain, but the danger outside the cellar is complicated by Gladwin’s growing attraction to Marie, his rescuer’s wife. Their affair carries an unsettling sense of recognition that suggests their connection may reach beyond the immediate circumstances of war.

The novel combines the hazardous work of RAF Bomber Command with the clandestine networks that moved downed Allied airmen through occupied France. Escape-line organisers, safe houses, false papers and the threat of German security forces provide the practical framework for Gladwin’s journey, while the romance adds a restrained supernatural element. The result is both a wartime survival story and an exploration of loyalty to the people waiting at home.