By Jacqueline Winspear

Spring 1940.  With Britons facing what has become known as “the Bore War”–nothing much seems to have happened yet–Maisie Dobbs is asked to investigate the disappearance of a local lad, a young apprentice craftsman working on a “hush-hush” government contract.  As Maisie’s inquiry reveals a possible link to the London underworld, another mother is worried about a missing son–but this time the boy in question is one beloved by Maisie.