An American airman has written a magazine article about his experiences being shot down in Europe and getting back home with the help of the evasion lines. British Intelligence has blocked the article’s publication, but Brandt has managed to obtain a copy from German intelligence based in America. Studying the article, he begins to deduce the probable route taken during the evasion and travels to the Pyrenees, where he enlists the aid of Malaud, a French policeman, to close in on the line. Meanwhile, Lisa is also in the area, taking some evaders down the very route Brandt is so close to tracking down.

When Lisa Colbert is arrested whilst meeting a contact near Paris, the whole future of Lifeline is put at risk. This also leads to her uncle being arrested and interrogated by Kessler. Whilst in prison, Lisa must decide whether she can trust her fellow inmates who claim to know who she is and how they can help her escape. These events will lead to tragedy, both personal and for Lifeline.

A British Wing Commander is badly burned after he has been shot down over Belgium. London wants him back urgently, but his facial injuries make it difficult for him to go down the line. He manages to get to Paris with Natalie as his guide, but Monique decides that if he is to avoid detection he must disguise himself as a woman for the rest of the journey. Meanwhile, Madeleine is ostracised for her relationship with Kessler, but finds a new friend in Monique. The Candide and its staff are targeted by terrorists for being collaborators, and Natalie and Max fear the worst when the Gestapo arrest Albert.

Lifeline’s original function is now over – the Allied advance has severed the evasion lines and it is now a matter of keeping evaders safely hidden until the war is over. Despite Kessler’s irritation at Reinhardt’s manner and methods, his efforts pay dividends when he discovers a Lifeline safehouse. Two of his new prisoners commit suicide rather than talk, but Reinhardt is determined that the third prisoner will give information under torture. Albert and Monique receive a tip-off that the middle-aged Chantal sisters, who are based in Senlis and often shelter airmen for Lifeline, are in imminent danger.