In 1917, the Allies prepare another major offensive while Germany answers with unrestricted submarine warfare, air raids on London and withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. The Morlands serve as soldiers, nurses and civilians, their lives stretched between the Western Front and a home front increasingly affected by shortages and fear.
The Battle of Passchendaele turns the promise of a decisive push into mud, exhaustion and loss. U-boats threaten Britain’s food supply, and new long-range aircraft carry war directly to the capital. Amid these pressures, members of the family continue to seek love and purpose where they can. The novel tests whether private affection can survive when industrial warfare reaches both the battlefield and the domestic world.
