Escape from Berlin: A Story of Betrayal That Spanned Generations

A novel that that starts before and during World War Two, but then explores the aftermath of these events through the next five decades. In pre-war Berlin, journalist Thomas Haas makes a dangerous enemy after exposing the crimes of SS officer Von Fügershof. At the same time, Gerda Neumann, a young Jewish widow, becomes entangled in a deadly family betrayal orchestrated by her sister-in-law, Wilma Bauer. As war engulfs Europe, Haas and Gerda fall in love while struggling to survive under Nazi rule. Wilma, now a spy for Von Fügershof, is assigned to betray Haas, but instead becomes his lover, her loyalties fatally divided. Pregnant, she flees to France, where Haas later saves her from execution and takes her to a safe house. Meanwhile, Gerda escapes Berlin with Haas’s help, as his mentor pays the ultimate price in a concentration camp. A failed British commando raid introduces Barnsley born Eric Pickering, the sole survivor of a mission betrayed by his own side. His story resurfaces decades later when a chance encounter, around a Test Valley cricket team, starts an investigation uncovering long buried truths and Haas's role in saving lives. Now a senior East German official and secret British asset, Haas plans a final defection to the West. But Von Fügershof, now a powerful industrialist, will stop at nothing to silence him, setting the stage for a final reckoning in a divided Berlin.