It is September 1940, and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Susan Shepherd has found comfort in raising homing pigeons with her grandfather, Bertie, and her favorite bird, Duchess, shares a special bond with her 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 the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert assignment to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Those that make the journey home to England can convey crucial information on German troop movements--and help reclaim the skies from the Luftwaffe. When Ollie's plane is downed behind enemy lines, 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.
adult
Alan Hlad.
Includes reader's discussion guide questions.
