The first novel in Kate Williams' groundbreaking new historical series which begins in the First World War. For fans of BIRDSONG and DOWNTON ABBEY.

In the idyllic early summer of 1914, life is good for the de Witt family. German Rudolf and his aristocratic English wife Verena are planning the wedding of their daughter, Emmeline, while their eldest son Arthur is studying in Paris and Michael is just back from his first term at Cambridge. Celia, the youngest of the de Witt children, is on the brink of adulthood, and secretly dreams of escaping her carefully mapped out future and exploring the world.

But with the onslaught of war, the de Witts find themselves in danger of losing everything they hold dear. As Celia struggles to make sense of the changing world around her, she lies about her age to join the war effort and finds herself embroiled in a complex plot that puts her and those she loves in danger.

With gripping detail and brilliant empathy, Kate Williams tells the story of Celia and her family as they are shunned by a society that previously embraced them, torn apart by sorrow, and buffeted and changed by the storms of war.

The first novel in the spellbinding De Witt trilogy, from bestselling author and historian Kate Williams

'A beautifully conjured family saga. Fans of Downton Abbey will love it' - Alison Weir

'Brilliant - a passionate and poignant story of a glittering family on the precipice of a vanished world. Spellbinding, gripping and beautiful - a must read' Lisa Hilton

'The terrific saga comes with a fascinating twist . . . Williams has a gift for showing how great movements in history affect the lives of people caught up in them' THE TIMES

'Rich in sumptuous detail and full of twists and turns' HEAT