Book excerpt: September 1940. England is at war and London has become an ever-fragile place for widowed Livia Ripley and her two young daughters, Polly and Eliza. When Livia meets charismatic publisher Hugo Ballantyne, she is hopeful that her life is about to change for the better. But as clouds gather in the autumn sky, the wail of the siren heralds the arrival of the Luftwaffe. Livia volunteers to be a warden and finds the reality and despair of war a contrast to the comfort of the Balfour Hotel with Hugo. Livia soon discovers a strength she never knew she had, which gives her the power to save those she loves.