Synopsis
In post-war Bristol, neophyte journalist Stephen Underwood is keen to prove his worth in a society where everyone is taught to know his or her place and not to question authority. He works for a local newspaper and yearns to break a big story while his editor, Frank Hamilton, is happy to keep kim reporting on nothing more controversial than local community events. However, when Stephen stumbles across the suicide of a Polish soldier from the local Displace Persons' camp, he disregards Hamilton's objections and follows his instincts.
Stephen heads to the camp to question the commanding officer, his estranged brother, Captain John Underwood, but John is far from happy to see him and is reluctant to answer any questions. Stephen meets Colonel Janusz Pietrowski, formerly of the Polish Second Corps (under British command) and now a Liaison Officer for the resettlement of Polish troops. When Stephen mentions the suicide, Pietrowski explains that many Poles had lost all hope since their homeland was occupied by Soviet Russia and many fear for their lives but Stephen remains sceptical.
Stephen is also intimately involved with Jeanette Mitchell, a Junior Commander in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, who works under his brother at the DP camp. She is trapped in a marriage of convenience with a homosexual military intelligence officer, Mason Mitchell. Both Stephen and Jeanette dream of escaping to London and starting a new life together and in the course of a clandestine meeting in a local public house, Stephen witnesses a confrontation between a new arrival at the camp, Michael Loboda, and a local farmer. During the argument Loboda inadvertently claims he is Russian and not Polish.
Curious as to what a Russian is doing posing as a Polish refugee, Stephen questions Loboda. Loboda believes his life is in danger but will not say why and threatens to kill Stephen if he presses him further. Undaunted, Stephen steals a small metal cash-box from Loboda's belongings whilst he is asleep. Inside the box he finds a blood-stained diary belonging to a young Polish cadet but before Stephen can determine its significance, Loboda disappears from the camp in mysterious circumstances.
Thus begins Stephen's journey into the unknown and his discovery that Loboda is in fact the last witness left in the West who could testify to the execution of Polish nationals by Stalin's secret police in 1940 and that the diary is conclusive proof of their guilt. He then becomes embroiled in a dangerous and multi-layered conspiracy to suppress the truth about the killings.