Invited back to her house, he is told by Sarah that the two of them worked for Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the war.
In the aftermath of the Slapton Sands disaster, Hugh Kelso, a US Army colonel, is washed ashore on Jersey, He is rescued by Hélène de Ville, who contacts London.
Brigadier Dougal Munro of SOE is aware that Kelso is one of the few officers who know the details of the planned D-Day landings.
He recruits Harry Martineau, a former academic and ruthless killer, now retired, and Sarah Drayton, a nurse with connections in, and local knowledge of, Jersey.
The plan to evacuate the wounded Kelso is upset by the arrival of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel on a surprise tour of inspection.
The operation is nearly upset by the arrival of a German military policeman who holds them at gunpoint, but he is overpowered and placed in a car which is set on fire and pushed over a cliff.
One of the crew is killed, and Harry orders the pilot to drop to almost sea-level, drawing down the pursuing fighter, which crashes.