Resigned to living out the Second World War in a German POW camp, James Hunter, an English officer, begins studying a pair of redstarts near the camp. His interest in the birds captures the attention of the Kommandant and gives James cause to fear for his life. Meanwhile, back in England, James's young wife, Rose, falls headlong into a passionate affair with another man. With wonderfully developed characters, exquisitely shaped by and reflected in the natural world, this book is a brilliant, beautiful evocation of place and a natural history of both the war and the human heart.
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