Malcolm Macphail’s Great War

In the autumn of 1917, Captain Malcolm MacPhail of the Canadian Corps moves from prolonged service in the trenches to an intelligence post just as the Passchendaele offensive approaches. Staff work promises no real safety: artillery, mud and battlefield confusion remain close, while Malcolm's outspoken manner creates enemies among officers whose decisions can be as dangerous to him as German fire.

His new duties expose the friction between headquarters and the men carrying out orders at the front. As the campaign deteriorates into a struggle against weather, exhaustion and entrenched defences, Malcolm must gather useful intelligence without losing the trust of soldiers who have learned to distrust optimistic plans. The novel follows the Canadian war effort through a protagonist caught between operational necessity and the human cost of command.