Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator, has handled many difficult cases since she opened her office in Fitzroy Square, London. But few requests have been as unusual as the one she receives from Sir Cedric Lawton on a September evening in 1930: She must prove that his son Ralph really is dead.

This is a case that will challenge Maisie in unexpected ways. For Ralph Lawton was an aviator shot down by enemy fire in 1917. If she is to get to the bottom of the mystery, Maisie must make the journey across the Channel to Northern France, where she spent time as a nurse in the Great War. And she soon realises that on the old battlefields, ghosts still linger.

For Maisie, this investigation raises far more questions than answers. Before she can reach the truth, she must first uncover the secrets and lies that some people would prefer remain buried

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