For the Love of a Child

A novel which explores the lives of three ordinary families swept up in the upheavals and heartaches of the first fifty years of the 20th century, a time of seismic social and historical change. When a child is born to a woman whose husband is a POW, it is an event which will have tragic consequences. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the early 20th century, this sweeping saga follows the intertwined fates of three families, bound by love, a terrible crime, and the scars of war. Squadron Leader Robert Banster, an RAF pilot, is deeply in love with Elizabeth, a beautiful young woman he met in 1937. Their marriage is blissful—until war shatters their world. During the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, Robert is shot down over France and taken prisoner, enduring the brutal hardships of a German POW camp. But it is not enemy bullets that wound him most deeply—it is a letter from Elizabeth that plants seeds of doubt and heartbreak. Returning home, he faces the painful reality of a family that has changed during his absence, and the joyful reunion he dreamed of is tainted by guilt, suspicion, and unspoken resentment. Their once-loving marriage begins to crumble, leading to devastating consequences that leave Elizabeth alone and heartbroken, but just when she has given up on love, fate intervenes, offering her a second chance at happiness.