1This is the first novel in a series that explores Stories of Childhood Loss and Hope. It sends a message out to anyone who has experienced the emotional pain of childhood loss that you are not alone in your grief.

The fictional story of little Marianne Bouchard set in 1942/43 through 2000 sees events through her eyes of growing up and then her grown up life - all experienced without her mother. Intertwined with this is Valérie's wartime story, her missing mother. It reveals the experiences of a woman's role within the Women's Auxiliary Air Force or WAAF and Special Operations Executive during World War II. A life that her daughter discovers the previously unknown and uplifting truth about 57 years later.

Was Valérie really who she thought she was? What secrets about the War had her grandmother Winnie kept hidden? From her dining room table, Marianne begins an investigation linking events and clues, then embarks on a journey of discovery to find the missing mother she never knew.

The backdrop of Valérie's wartime story tells of the bravery and courage of the women agents who served in the Special Operations Executive. In fighting for freedom and peace from the Nazi regime, many of them never returned to their homes and families.

These women played their amazing - if unbelievably true - part in defeating the tyranny in 1940's Europe. The story of the female SOE operatives is as fascinating as it is harrowing. They were ordinary women - wives, sisters, daughters, mothers. The sad and disturbing element of this is the fact that the real, detailed story of most of these women did not receive the public or authorities' recognition of their commitment and bravery until many years later.

The author pays homage to these brave souls and their contribution to peace and freedom.