Left the 20th of Jan. for Germany,

in the convoy of women. ,

Good health, good morale.

Warn the Red Cross to send shoes,

warm clothes, and food.

Addressed to a French doctor away in service of the war, a scrap of paper bearing twenty-seven cryptic words was tossed from a train as it pulled from the station. Sailing on cold winter winds, the unsigned note was picked up by an unnamed person who seemed to understand the importance of the carefully chosen words. The words of a captured Special Operations Executive spy.

Through war documents, letters, and interviews, E.M. Sloan re-creates the life and death of Cecily Gordon Lefort, French country doctor’s wife turned spy. Her tale is one of international intrigue and deceit, capturing the raw emotions of love and war.

Fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Martha Hall Kelly’s The Lilac Girls will love this true story of exceptional women in World War II.

Gabi Plumm