Summary

Chapter 1: On Friday, May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill traveled to Buckingham Palace where King George VI invited him to form a government. This was in response to the collapse of the previous government, led by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain's policies of appeasement had been failing for some time and a change of government was now deemed necessary. Chamberlain resigned, and Churchill was pleased with his new post, finally able to direct the war effort. Churchill knew that Britain could not win without the eventual participation of the United States, and inducing that country to join the Allies would become an important part of his efforts.

Chapter 2: Churchill's seventeen-year-old daughter Mary spent the night of May 9th dining and dancing with friends late into the night. The next morning, she woke to the sad news of Hitler's attacks in Europe that night...