At Midnight in a Flaming Town

As historical fiction, this novel takes an original viewpoint of the First World War, turning the spotlight on the German invasion of Belgium in the early months of the conflict. Through individual episodes, the authors trace the fortunes of civilians, not only Belgian, but also American and English, who find themselves caught up in an increasingly vengeful invasion of the small country as an impatient German Army hastens to break through to Paris. Into this volatile background, fugitive British soldiers, left behind enemy lines by their retreating armies, try to slip home, assisted by brave local citizens who, in so doing, risk their own lives. Biographically based on people caught up in the drama of this time, including the British nurse Edith Cavell, the story also follows the lives of Marion, a trainee nurse in Brussels, Sister Therese from Leuven, and Russell, an American Rhodes scholar in Belgium at the time of the invasion and seconded to the organization established to feed the population of Belgium who were suffering from economic hardship and limited food supplies. Against this background of heightening tension and danger, the people affected show how their beliefs are challenged, loyalties tested, and new relationships formed. This novel is the opening chapter for some of the key characters whose lives are followed through the pursuit of the war in the sequel.