Book excerpt: A heartwarming saga of secrets, friendships and wartime spirit at the height of World War 2. For fans of Daisy Styles, Sheila Newberry and Lyn Andrews A young German girl finds friendship, camaraderie and even love while working on Hampshire's south coast ferries - but will her new friends desert her if her nationality comes to light? 'A gripping story packed with darkness and light, love and friendship, greed and betrayal' Lancashire Evening Post on The Factory Girls Vee Smith is 22 when she starts work on Gosport's ferries, taking a job left vacant by the men gone off to war. She soon makes friends with the other women workers, and together they enjoy nights out dancing in Gosport - keeping their spirits up despite the hard work, rationing and heavy bombing. Vee even feels herself falling for Sam, the skipper of the ferry and her unhappily married boss. But Vee has a secret: her real name is Violetta Schmidt, and she is half-German. If her true nationality is discovered, she and her mother could find themselves interned as enemy aliens - if their German-hating neighbours, or worse, Eddie, the man Vee ran away from after he got her false papers, don't hurt them first. Will Vee be able to keep her secret safe, and find some peace with Sam and her friends even in the midst of war?