When honour is worth more than life itself…
Germany, 1940
The fall of France has struck a demoralising blow for the British forces fleeing the Continent.
The badly wounded Major Hector Brand, leading his men to St Valery for extraction, is horrified when German planes destroy the hospital ship carrying away the injured.
Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he soon discovers that the promised extraction will not be forthcoming.
No one is coming to rescue them – there is no choice but for Hector, his troops, and every other British man left on the shore at St Valery to surrender.
To his surprise, Hector is transported to the home of Joachim Baron von Patten to convalesce, where he is nursed back to health by the daughters of the house in an unexpected attempt to return a debt – Hector’s uncle once saved the life of von Patten’s father.
Treated as an honoured guest, Hector soon grows to like his captors — but military honour demands that it is his duty to escape as soon as possible.
For a time, Hector is too weak to contemplate any such action, but as he begins to regain his strength, he turns his attention towards crossing the mountains into Switzerland, only a few miles away…
But Hector knows that long before he will be well enough to make such a trip himself, he will have been declared healthy enough to be removed to a German prison camp.
He needs help, and the only aid can come from one of the von Patten daughters. Grappling with guilt over betraying his beloved wife, he attempts to seduce both girls, hoping that a passion for him will prompt one of them to risk everything to get him safely out of Germany.
The escape at first goes smoothly — too smoothly. With the border of Switzerland in sight, the plan goes horribly wrong – the beautiful Agnes von Patten, a girl who risked everything for his safety, is shot and captured whilst he escapes.
Her actions condemn the entire family as traitors, and lead to consequences that Hector could never have imagined.
Desperate to save a family as loyal as his own, Hector returns to Europe with the D-Day advances to find Agnes and free her.
Or at least die trying…
Full of dramatic plot twists, The Sword and the Prison is a gripping historical thriller set during World War II.
Born in 1930, Christopher Nicole spent his early years in British Guyana and the West Indies — years that would later strongly influence much of his writing. He has written under a number of pseudonyms and many of his fifty novels are historical with a West Indian background.
Germany, 1940
The fall of France has struck a demoralising blow for the British forces fleeing the Continent.
The badly wounded Major Hector Brand, leading his men to St Valery for extraction, is horrified when German planes destroy the hospital ship carrying away the injured.
Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he soon discovers that the promised extraction will not be forthcoming.
No one is coming to rescue them – there is no choice but for Hector, his troops, and every other British man left on the shore at St Valery to surrender.
To his surprise, Hector is transported to the home of Joachim Baron von Patten to convalesce, where he is nursed back to health by the daughters of the house in an unexpected attempt to return a debt – Hector’s uncle once saved the life of von Patten’s father.
Treated as an honoured guest, Hector soon grows to like his captors — but military honour demands that it is his duty to escape as soon as possible.
For a time, Hector is too weak to contemplate any such action, but as he begins to regain his strength, he turns his attention towards crossing the mountains into Switzerland, only a few miles away…
But Hector knows that long before he will be well enough to make such a trip himself, he will have been declared healthy enough to be removed to a German prison camp.
He needs help, and the only aid can come from one of the von Patten daughters. Grappling with guilt over betraying his beloved wife, he attempts to seduce both girls, hoping that a passion for him will prompt one of them to risk everything to get him safely out of Germany.
The escape at first goes smoothly — too smoothly. With the border of Switzerland in sight, the plan goes horribly wrong – the beautiful Agnes von Patten, a girl who risked everything for his safety, is shot and captured whilst he escapes.
Her actions condemn the entire family as traitors, and lead to consequences that Hector could never have imagined.
Desperate to save a family as loyal as his own, Hector returns to Europe with the D-Day advances to find Agnes and free her.
Or at least die trying…
Full of dramatic plot twists, The Sword and the Prison is a gripping historical thriller set during World War II.
Born in 1930, Christopher Nicole spent his early years in British Guyana and the West Indies — years that would later strongly influence much of his writing. He has written under a number of pseudonyms and many of his fifty novels are historical with a West Indian background.
