Set in London during the Blitz, in occupied France and amid the rolling Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire, this is the story of two cousins who, as squabbling rivals, are thrown together by the outbreak of war. Nell and Sylvie grew up quickly during the early days of rationing, black-outs, and the arrival of RAF planes in the skies over the Chilterns. Sylvie, marooned in England, is desperately worried for her parents who she left behind in Nazi-occupied Normany and puts up a barrier of bitterness to hide her distress. Nell, meanwhile, witnesses the crumbling of her parents' marriage. Even as the war rages on around them, the competition and jealousy between the cousins battles on - especially in romance. "Reminiscent of Rosamunde Pilcher". - The Watermill Bookshop