It's early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square -- a place of many memories -- she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man's wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie -- who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter -- to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich. The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie's travel plans. Her nemesis -- the man she holds responsible for her husband's death -- has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help. Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers -- and finds herself questioning whether it's time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas.
Maisie Dobbs is back from overseas, and still feeling the loss of her husband. When she is asked, once again, to help serve her country and bring home a man who has been at Dachau, off to Munich she heads. Arriving there as the man's daughter, she finds that little is as she was told, and the world may be much closer to the brink of war than anyone is willing to believe.
Maisie is like an old friend - she is one I turn to when I want to read a little something different, with a down-to-earth character and smarts to beat those of most men. In this story, Winspear is in excellent form, and it was a pleasure to spend more time with her.
