Hal Treherne is a young and dedicated soldier on the
brink of a brilliant career. Impatient to see action,
his other deep commitment is to Clara, his beautiful
'red, white and blue girl', who sustains him as he rises
through the ranks. When Hal is transferred to the
Mediterranean, Clara, now his wife, and their baby
daughters join him. But Cyprus is no 'sunshine posting',
and the island is in the heat of the Emergency: the
British are defending the colony against Cypriots -
schoolboys and armed guerrillas alike - battling for
enosis, union with Greece. The skirmishes are far from
glorious and operations often rough and bloody. Still,
in serving his country and leading his men, Hal has a
taste of triumph. Clara shares his sense of duty. She
must settle down, make no fuss, smile. But action
changes Hal, and Clara becomes fearful - of the lethal
tit-for-tat beyond the army base, and her increasingly
distant husband. The atrocities Hal is drawn into take
him further from Clara; a betrayal that is only part of
the shocking personal crisis to come.The prizewinning
and bestselling author of The Outcast returns with an
emotionally powerful portrait of a marriage in extremis
and a world-view in question. Sadie Jones has produced a
passionate, gut-wrenching and brilliantly researched
depiction of a 'small war' with devastating
consequences; and in doing so, raises important
questions that resonate profoundly today. |
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