First published 2025
Etta Shiber and Kitty Bonnefous live quietly in occupied Paris when war transforms their lives. The American widow and English divorcée begin rescuing trapped Allied soldiers, smuggling them past Nazi checkpoints hidden in their car trunk. Working with a French priest, they save dozens of servicemen until the Gestapo arrests them both. Etta survives eighteen months of imprisonment and returns to America through a prisoner exchange. Kitty remains locked in solitary confinement. Back in New York, Etta writes a memoir about their rescue work that becomes a bestseller, making her famous while Kitty suffers in Nazi prison, unaware of the book written in her name. Matthew Goodman uses military records, personal testimonies, and Etta's wartime letters to reveal the shocking truth behind the published memoir and its far-reaching consequences. This story explores how two ordinary women found extraordinary courage, and how one woman's account of their heroism concealed deeper truths about survival, friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves about war.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, adventure
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: Paris, America, Nazi Germany
Period: Occupied France, World War II
448 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: war