Delderfield's third novel in the trilogy that includes GOD IS AN ENGLISHMAN and THEIRS WAS THE KINGDOM is a towering novel that brings the Swann family to the brink of WW I. The last remnants of the titanic energy that fueled Victoria's Empire was about to be wasted on the bloody fields of Flanders.

At the center stands Adam Swann: aging but still indomitable and still as much in love with Henrietta as he was when he first lifted her on his horse and carried her away. They are now surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Through their eyes we see the ferment of a country moving into the modern world.