She’s an emotionaly damaged agent with a dilemma. Find a highly valued downed airman behind enemy lines, then decide whether to become his saviour or assassin.

SYNOPSIS:

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A classic World War Two Action-Adventure feature.

It’s like Saving Private Ryan but with a believable female protagonist, no revisionist history necessary. Our protagonist is a composite of actual, female S.O.E. agents such as Violette Szabo, Vera Rosenberg-Atkins, and Noor Khan. The Resistance Groups, weapons, aircraft, and tactics are all historically accurate.

This is essentially a story about the fact that no one wins in war, even the victors emerge damaged.

It’s also a reminder of the horrors of Totalitarianism as we watch history repeat itself in the Ukraine 80 years later.

Protagonist Madelaine:

An emotionally wounded 27-year-old French widow / refugee, whose husband and brother have been killed in the war. Madelaine joined the resistance and is training as a wireless operator. She is surpassing all expectations, speaks three languages and is outperforming many of the male agent-trainees. Her instructors trust her skills and focus but are concerned about her psychological state. Madelaine is emotionally cold and has refused to make any personal connections.

In the end she gets what she needs when she regains her humanity but not what she wants when she fails to bring the young flyer home alive.

Antagonist Gestapo Major Kempf:

Mid 30s, diminutive, meticulous, calm, and lethal. He abhors violence and begs his victims to talk. He hands off the terror to surrogates. A highly competent hunter, Kempf keeps the pressure on the navigator and Madelaine.

Pathfinder Lieutenant Savard:

20-year-old French Canadian, Navigator, a member of the elite Pathfinders Squadron. Inexperienced in life but a navigational wizard, he has knowledge of ultra-top-secret systems and can’t be taken alive by the enemy.

He evolves from a panic-stricken kid, lost behind enemy lines to a resourceful and elusive prey.

STORY

Set during a three-month period in occupied Belgium in 1943.

A freak mechanical accident sets Savard’s Mosquito on fire, he bails out, but his best friend and pilot perishes. The S.O.E. is tasked with extracting Savard if possible but if not, ensure he is dead.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Major Kempf has recently dismantled the Allied escape network in Belgium.

Madelaine’s Commanding Officer proposes her for the job and makes a convincing case for the unconventional approach. He also believes she can pull the trigger if necessary.

Madelaine parachutes into occupied Belgium, is received by the Resistance and connects with Sr. Anne, Mother Superior at a Catholic Convent. The nuns are already involved in the resistance and provide Madelaine with a safe house.

Madelaine poses as a nun and searches for Savard, while also training her team of Nuns and children. Her cell receives midnight arms drops and commit successful acts of sabotage but as amateurs also make a fatal mistake.

Kempf closes in on Madelaine’s team and she is forced to go on the run before she can find the Pathfinder. Alone, on the run and running out of options, she is at her low point.

Meanwhile in a parallel universe, we’ve been keeping track of Savard, The Pathfinder uses his wits to evade capture and eventually connects with the Belgian Resistance who relay his whereabouts to the British secret service.

The race is on to get to the young navigator when both sides locate him. Madelaine gets to him first but a large contingent of German soldiers surround the forest sanctuary. The British High Command doesn’t like the odds, over rules the S.O.E. and carpet bombs the enclave.

Madelaine and the young man survive the horrific bombardment; she has a split second to decide whether to be saviour or assassin.

Madelaine regains her humanity and leads the pair on a perilous, cross-country trek to a new rendezvous with an RAF aircraft. The duo bond during their adventure and Madelaine blossoms, finding joy and purpose in caring for another human being again.

Madelaine’s old wounds re-open when she fails to bring Savard home alive.

Tom Brannagan

tombrannagan@icloud.com

519-259-9685

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