A retiring dermatologist is busily preparing himself for a life of leisure at age seventy. He and his wife of over forty years live comfortably in the same house in Cranston, Rhode Island, where they have raided their two adult daughters, both in their forties. Tony and Marge Papineau are ready for their golden years, but a sudden phone call from the current owner of Tony's childhood home in Cumberland opens a world he had never known before.
The discovery of a metal box in a sealed room between two bedrooms in his old homestead introduces him to information about his father he never knew. For that matter, he hardly had known his father at all, since he had died of cancer in 1953 when Tony was only five years old. The contents of the metal box reveal that his father, Gerard Papineau, had served as a gunner on a B-17 bomber in World War II, had parachuted to the ground in war-torn Belgium in 1943, and had been wounded before jumping out of his crashing bomber. The box also contains a detailed journal of his rescue by a young female member of an escape network in Belgium, called the Comet Line. His savior goes simply by the code name of Lily, as she nurses him back to health from his arm wound and prepares to lead him to the safety of Spain and the British Embassy there. But first she must take him through France, and then prepare him for the treacherous journey over the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain.
Tony's wife, Marge, finds an old letter hidden in the journal, which was written to Gerard a few years after the war. The letter reveals her true identity. The famous Lily in the Comet Line, a legend in the escape network, is Micheline "Michou" Dumon-Ugeux. The letter to Gerard clearly indicates that they were in love, but that their separation over time and the distance between them prevented them from ever seeing each other again.
Tony is dumfounded by all of this news and begins to search the internet for information about Madame Dumon-Ugeux, amazed to find that she was one of the key leaders in the escape network, and had received recognition from the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the United States for her wartime exploits in rescuing 250 downed airmen during the war. He also discovers that his own father had received the Distinguished Flying Cross from the U.S. and the Distinguished Flying Medal from the UK for his heroism during the war, a war he had not even known his father served in.
Join us on a journey to find out more about the lives of both Gerard and Lily during World War II, and the love that would never be broken, even if it was never meant to be. Follow along to learn of Lily's exploits and her courage before and after her days and months with Gerard Papineau, events which no doubt make you fall in love with Lily, a legend who needs to be revealed as a true heroine of World War II, even if fame and recognition were the furthest thing from her mind. I guarantee you will enjoy the ride.
