From
John Scognamiglio Books, Kensington Publishing
Inspired by fascinating,
true, yet little-known events during World War II, The Long Flight Home is
a testament to the power of courage in our darkest hours—a moving, masterfully
written story of love and sacrifice.
It is September 1940—a
year into the war—and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an
impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping
Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her
parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons
with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan—loyal, intelligent,
beautiful—but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from an egg that Susan
incubated in a bowl under her grandfather’s desk lamp, Duchess shares a special
bond with Susan and an unusual curiosity about the human world.
Thousands of miles away
in Buxton, Maine, a young crop-duster pilot named Ollie Evans has decided to
travel to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. His quest brings him to Epping
and to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert
assignment. Codenamed Source Columba, the mission aims to air-drop hundreds of
homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do
make the journey home to England can convey crucial information on German troop
movements—and help reclaim the skies from the Luftwaffe.
The friendship between
Ollie and Susan deepens as the mission date draws near. When Ollie’s plane is
downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be.
Yet Duchess’s devotion and her singular sense of duty will become an unexpected
lifeline, relaying messages between Susan and Ollie as war rages on—and
proving, at last, that hope is never truly lost.
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