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Set in the South of France in the early 1950s, the heat is intense, roads are dusty and parched, cicadas are noisy, the coffee is strong and une omelette aux fines herbes at the local caf茅 is almost exotic.

This is Charity鈥檚 dream holiday after the austere greyness of England and the death of her husband in the war. At her hotel, she meets David, a lonely English schoolboy who is there with his stepmother. She discovers that his father has been accused of murder and he is in France for his own safety.

Charity soon finds herself caught up in a plot to kidnap him and she begins to mistrust everyone. Is the man she keeps bumping into a foe or friend? She flees to Marseille where the war still casts a shadow. Collaborators with the occupying Germans are still being hunted down and fugitive Nazis are living in disguise.

Mary Stewart invented the romantic suspense novel. Originally published in 1954, this was her first book and an instant best-seller. She caught the spirit of the post-war world - her heroines are all independent, educated young women who enjoy travelling, drive fast cars and stand up for themselves. Never out of print and with over five million copies sold, Mary Stewart's been called one of the great British storytellers of the 20th century.

Cast:
Charity Selbourne ..... Scarlett Courtney
Richard Byron ..... Tim Dutton
Paul Very ..... Sam Alexander
Loraine Bristol ..... Harriet Collings
Louise Cray ..... Esme Scarborough
John Marsden & Max Kramer ..... Kenneth Collard
David Bryon ..... Frankie Milward

Other parts were played by members of the cast

Sound Engineer and Design: David Thomas
Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Tombling and Phoebe Izzard-Davey
Programme Illustration: Mahla Bess
Dramatised by Marcy Kahan from the novel by Mary Stewart

Produced and Directed by Caroline Raphael
A Pier production for 鲍鱼tv Radio 4