Beginning just before the outbreak of the First World War, this is the story of the moral values of the age. It is a story of illegitimacy and deception—where a child has to come to terms with discovering who his mother really is. It is a story in which romance is set against the backdrop of the growth of fascism in Europe, where London has become a refuge for persecuted Jews, and where Dunkerley newspaper reporter Joe Morrison has become a thorn in the sides of the European dictators. It is a story in which the looming Second World War and the intrigue leading up to it take on a frightening reality.