
Suddenly, the moral implications of what has happened-that a patient in her charge has committed murder-become more important to Bess than her own future. But the elusive soldier has disappeared again and even the Shropshire police have lost him. If Bess is to save her own reputation, she must find Wilkins and uncover the truth. Then comes disturbing word from the Shropshire police, complicating the already difficult situation: Wilkins has been spotted, and he's killed a man.

Both the Army and the nursing service hold Bess negligent for losing the war hero, and there will be an inquiry. The next morning when Bess goes to collect Wilkins, he has vanished.

Home on leave, Bess Crawford is asked to accompany a wounded soldier confined to a wheelchair to Buckingham Palace, where he's to be decorated by the King. World War I Battlefield nurse Bess Crawford's career is in jeopardy when a murder is committed on her watch, in this absorbing and atmospheric historical mystery from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd.
