Description

Out of the West is a compelling work of literary fiction, a war novel that also explores the challenges of peace. A gripping historical adventure, it paints a portrait of courage and love in the fatal shadow of global conflict that has spilled tragically into the twenty-first century. Citizens of Nazi-occupied Greece face daily decisions that affect their freedom and their survival. When music teacher Petros intervenes in a dispute between a Greek woman and a German soldier, he and jazz singer Thea are plunged into the brutal world of armed resistance. Ian Chalmers, a British agent, lands in Northern Greece, where he joins Petros' and Thea's network. Never fully understanding his Greek collaborators, he forms a deep bond with them. In Scotland after World War Two, Ian is alienated from everyday life until he meets Clare, an up and coming intelligence officer. Surrounded by opportunity and courted by influential mentors, Ian and Clare learn that integrity has to be fought for in peacetime Britain just as in wartime Europe. When Ian undertakes a final mission to Greece, now in the full throes of civil war, the weight of ideology and history descends with sudden force on the small town where former friends and enemies confront one another in a terrifying climax.