Visiting a friend in Paris during July 1914, Lady Elspeth Douglas witnesses the French army mobilize against German invasion. Although she books passage home, Elspeth is drawn to help wounded soldiers in need and is discovered at the front lines by fellow Scotsman Peter Gilchrist. Elspeth feels an immediate connection with Peter but cannot acknowledge her feelings as she has just made a semiformal promise to another. Training and working as a nurse give Elspeth a sense of purpose and a reoccurring connection to Peter, but both men are in her thoughts. Will the war and her honor make the choice for her? Verdict Waiting for PBS's Downton Abbey to resume or pining for the pleasure of a new Todd mystery? This World War I story, with a pleasant nod to the Christmas season, will give longtime fans a reason to rejoice and will surely attract new fans lucky enough to receive a gift copy. Bess Crawford appears occasionally, but this stand-alone tale is truly about Elspeth, the two soldiers who've captured her heart in such different ways, and the struggle to find hope in the midst of war. Bringing history to life through these characters and their actions, this book will have a strong appeal for many readers.-Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Lady Elspeth Douglas is in Paris staying with her friend Madeleine when World War I breaks out. As the French army is mobilized, her schoolgirl crush, Madeleine's brother, Alain, declares his love for her. She accepts Alain's ring, but on her journey back to England, she ends up helping wounded soldiers on the battlefield, meeting up with family friend Captain Peter Gilchrist. On her return to England, neglecting to tell her guardian, she joins Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, returning to the battlefields of France. Torn between her growing feelings for Peter and her concern for Alain, who is missing and believed captured by the Germans, she works as a surgical nurse until her guardian learns of her vocation, and, at his request, she is dismissed from the service. Framed by the horrors of the battlefields of World War I, Scottish history, and details of the lives of the hardworking nurses and the deprivations of wartime England and France, this is the story of a strong-willed woman rejecting her privileged background to serve king and country.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2010 Booklist