'Far-reaching, but also intimate and intensely personal… will stay with me' FLORENCE KNAPP

‘Admirably spare, delicately descriptive and alluring in its twists and turns’ SONIA PURNELL

'A powerful story, beautifully told' M.L. STEDMAN

A dazzling literary achievement that brings to life the shattering emotional impact of World War Two on ordinary people

Cambridge, 1942

Twins Tessa and Theo had always shared everything – until the summer Tessa spent studying in France. She hasn’t been the same since. But before Theo can find out why, he is recruited by the RAF and disappears into the skies.

Determined to carve her own path, Tessa joins the clandestine Special Operations Executive, slipping into the shadows of occupied France. It will be dangerous work, but France is the home of her greatest love – and her darkest secret. Tessa has many reasons for wanting to return.

Two years later, Theo comes home. Tessa does not.

A dazzling literary achievement that brings to life the shattering emotional impact of World War Two on ordinary people, THE SHOCK OF THE LIGHT is as exhilarating as it is heartbreaking.