Synopsis

Penelope is the privileged stepdaughter of Henry Kendall-Wilkes, a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher’s Government. Rather than rely on a meagre allowance, Penelope, who has a talent for mimicry and an appetite for adventure, escapes his control by earning a living through unconventional means.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Falklands Crisis in 1982, when IRA terrorism threatened mainland Britain, a diamond robbery brings death and mayhem to the streets of Hartingham in central England. When Penelope discovers her stepfather’s involvement in the crime, he threatens to kill her. After thirty years in hiding, news of her stepfather’s death and the chance of a substantial inheritance means Penelope must visit her stepfather’s solicitor and swear an affidavit to explain the estrangement and prove her identity. At last, she can reveal how the pursuit of a killer led her into adventure, deceit, war, and romance.