The war everyone dreaded has begun at last but for Susan Cahill it is more an adventure than a tragedy. Helped by a white lie about her marriage to Danny she has a new job as a producer's assistant at the BBC. And glamorous new friends, including one American war reporter who has made London his base and Susan his target.

Danny is also working for the BBC, sharing a room in a freezing farmhouse in Evesham, working long hours monitoring German radio broadcasts - and worrying about Susan.

Stuck in London when the blitz begins, Susan's sister-in-law, Breda Hooper, faces up to the worst with a small son at home and a husband in the fire service. Then her Italian father, hiding out from both the authorities and his former partners in crime, prepares to leave Breda a legacy as explosive as any German bomb.