Preamble: The Lion at Bay Summary and Analysis

The book opens with the British army retreating to the town on Dunkirk, on the English Channel. The British are basically alone. They cannot defend against the Germans if they cross the Channel at this point. The only hope the British have are the 220,000 Tommies at Dunkirk, and the King and the House of Commons have been warned of the impending doom and the inadequacy of the Royal Navy. The result is a volunteer flotilla of all kinds of boats that come to help. This effort helps save the British troops. The British have an enemy named Adolph Hitler and England need help fighting him. England needs a strong leader to combat the German problem. They have that leader in Winston Churchill.

When the German breakthrough occurs, seventeen year-old Mary Churchill is at...