As World War II tightens its hold on England, daily life for the Cazalets is reshaped by rationing, air raids, and separation in the third novel of Elizabeth Jane Howard’s beloved and bestselling series.

It is 1942, and the war feels endless. Divided between the threatened streets of London and the relative quiet of Sussex, the family finds that survival on the home front mirrors the private upheavals within their own lives.

Headstrong Louise shocks everyone when she abandons her dreams of the stage for the security—and constraints—of a society marriage. In London, Polly is forced into sudden adulthood as she grapples with her mother’s death and her father’s consuming grief. And fiercely intelligent Clary refuses to accept that her missing father is dead, holding fast to hope when others have begun to let go.

As these three young women step fully into adulthood, they must confront how war has altered not only their futures, but their understanding of love, loyalty, and themselves. Sweeping yet intimate, this installment deepens the emotional power of the Cazalet Chronicles and confirms its place as one of the great family sagas of the twentieth century.