This is a book about the way in which war disrupts the lives of ordinary people, even when they are remote from the action. It also challenges our ideas of patriotism, courage, enmity and love.

Esther is "The Welsh Girl", living a quiet life as a farmer's daughter, and barmaid in the village pub during the Second World War. A prisoner of war camp is built nearby, in which Karsten, a German soldier who has surrendered, is placed. This camp brings disruption to the village, exposing feelings of hatred of the English towards the Germans, and of the Welsh towards the English. There is also a visitor to the village, Rotheram, a German Jew who lives in England, and whose job it is to question the German war criminal, Hess. This novel is the story of what happens when these people interact.

The notion of shame is at the heart of the novel. Esther is ashamed because she is pregnant by an English soldier who has raped her. Karsten, and the other German prisoners, are shamed by their surrender. Rotheram is ashamed because he and his mother fled from persecution in Germany. The interaction between the characters results in them realising that ideas of patriotism, nationality, and courage are arbitrary, and more complex than wartime propaganda would have them believe. Each character realises this in his/her own way.

This is a gentle novel, which is not very plot driven, which I found problematic at first. However, I like to read something different, which this is, although the themes are a bit well-worn. Once I got into the book, I enjoyed it, being especially interested in the Welsh perspective on the war. Not a riveting read, but good all the same.