When Nightingales Sang

For as long as she could remember, Jessica Gray had wanted to be a singer – until the terrible day when the powerful and famous band leader Ken Peters told her that her husky contralto voice would never be good enough for the stage. Every day for two years she had lived with the bitter disappointment, spending her time as a teacher in a small Kentish village, trying to keep her impossible mother from interfering in her life.

Then came war, and Kent was in the front line. And just as the Battle of Britain was about to begin, two momentous events occurred: Jessica discovered the truth of what had happened two years previously, and she met John Gales, Spitfire fighter pilot.

At first, Jessica saw John as a means to an end: through him she could sing with the squadron band, and through him she would meet the American pilot Will Donaldson, gifted clarinetist and inspired song-writer. Will had plans for their future. But, possessively, John extracted a promise from Jessica – to sing for no one but him – that would have far-reaching ramifications when tragedy struck, and would bedevil Jessica’s path to fulfilment and happiness.