Summary

Virginia realized the intensity of the increasing danger to herself and to her work, and made plans to leave, going as far as requesting the SOE offices in London to arrange for plane tickets. Ultimately, though, she remained determined to see her commitments through – particularly the plans she had made to release Rake and the others from Castres, as well as her arrangements to secure the release of “Olive.” She ended up staying until the last possible minute, making her escape only when she got word that the Allied forces were about to invade Northern Africa, which would lead to the Nazis taking full control of France, including Lyon. She also knew that despite her best efforts, she was becoming more and more known to the Gestapo and the Abwehr.

Virginia caught the last possible train out of Lyon on Monday, November 9 of...