War breaks out as newly married Guy and Harriet Pringle set out on a journey across Europe and into the heart of the Balkans, Romania, where an uneasy neutrality reigns.
The Pringles arrive in Bucharest. But events take a dark turn after the Iron Guards assassinate the Romanian prime minister. As Guy's importance grows, Harriet wonders if he will find time for her.
To Harriet's intense annoyance, Prince Yakimov has taken up permanent residence in the Pringle flat while they secretly shelter Sasha Drucker from the attentions of the Iron Guard.
Guy's name is on a Gestapo death list, the Pringles' flat is ransacked, and Sasha disappears.
As German troops advance into Greece and the allied forces are mobilised, Harriet's brief encounter with a young army officer comes to an end. The English community prepare to leave Athens, and Guy and Harriet escape on a derelict cargo boat.
After fighting in his first battle in the Western Desert, Simon Boulderstone sets out in search of his brother. Guy returns from Alexandria to take charge of the institute in Cairo.
Neglected by Guy and weakened by illness, Harriet decides to return to England. But at the last minute, she changes her mind and on a last-minute impulse set off for Damascus.
