A Troubled Peace
 World War II may be ending, but for 19-year-old bomber pilot, Henry Forester, the conflict still rages on. Shot down over France, Henry endured a dangerous trek to freedom, relying on civilians and French Resistance fighters to stay alive. But back home in Virginia, Henry is still reliving air battles with Hitler’s Luftwaffe and his torture by the Gestapo. Henry worries about the safety of those who helped him escape—especially the young French boy, Pierre, who may have lost everything in his efforts to save Henry. When Henry returns to France to find Pierre, he is stunned by the brutal aftermath of combat: widespread starvation, cities shattered by Allied bombing, and the return of survivors from the concentration camps. His efforts to find and secure the safety of Pierre help him to resolve the deep inner conflict he experiences at the beginning of the novel. He returns to Virginia with Pierre.