A Sunlit Weapon

In the tumultuous October of 1942, Air Transport Auxiliary pilot Jo Hardy faces a terrifying ordeal when her Spitfire comes under ground fire while en route to Biggin Hill Aerodrome. Returning to the incident site on foot, she makes a chilling discovery: an African American soldier, bound and gagged, hidden in an old barn. The plot thickens when another ferry pilot crashes and dies in the same area of Kent, leading Jo to suspect a sinister connection between all three events. Desperate to help the now-imprisoned soldier, Jo turns to the insightful psychologist-investigator, Maisie Dobbs. As Maisie delves into the labyrinthine case, she uncovers a dangerous conspiracy linking the targeting of ferry pilots and the soldier's plight to the highly anticipated visit of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to Britain. With time running out, Maisie must use her formidable intellect to unravel the plot, not only to save the president's wife from looming danger but also to protect an innocent soldier caught in a deadly crossfire.