A Shadow on the Sun

by Francis Cottam

Polish war exile Julia Smollen has escaped the horrors of a Nazi labour camp to forge a new life in California with her daughter, Tasha. Sent to the best school her mother can afford, growing up through the Cold War and the Space Race and coming into contact with the aspiring young Democrat, Jack Kennedy, Tasha is precocious, wilful and politically engaged. As intensely close as Tasha and her mother are, however, she remains unaware of the true identity of her father, the courageous German officer Martin Hamer, who was fatally wounded helping the then-pregnant Julia flee her occupied homeland. But Julia cannot keep the truth hidden from her daughter forever. A sinister figure from the past is about to emerge, with his own dark, vengeful agenda.

'Cottam's novel is outstanding in its attention to historical detail and feel for the zeitgeist of the time ... this is a story of loyalty and enduring friendship that crosses all boundaries, as compelling as it is thoughtful and poignant' IRISH INDEPENDENT 22/05

Francis Cottam was born in Southport, Merseyside, in 1957. A full-time journalist, he has lived and worked in London for the past twenty years. His first novel, THE FIRE FIGHTER, was published in 2001.