Shining Through

Linda Voss grows up in New York City as a woman of Irish/German Jewish heritage. She dreams of visiting Berlin to find her family members there, a longing that anchors much of her wartime choices. The aspiration frames her later risk-filled mission in Europe.

In 1940, Linda applies for a secretary job at a major law firm but is hired as a translator for the stern attorney Ed Leland. She quickly gets to know him and the job anchors her in wartime intelligence work. The partnership begins her long, dangerous entanglement with Ed.

As she works with Ed, Linda grows suspicious of his strange behavior, suspecting he may be a spy. Despite her misgivings, their professional rapport evolves into a forbidden romance. The dynamic seals their fates for years of espionage work.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ed is deployed as a colonel in the OSS and moves Linda with him to Washington, D.C. Their separation by war duties begins the couple's long-distance spy partnership. The move places Linda at the epicenter of Allied intelligence planning.

Back in the United States, Linda hears little of Ed until he reappears with another female officer and re-employs her for covert work. She resumes her role in the war effort, leveraging her German language skills. The revival of their collaboration intensifies the danger and romance.

When a Berlin undercover agent is murdered, Ed and his team need a replacement on extremely short notice. Linda volunteers for the mission, leveraging her fluency in German and her readiness to risk everything for the cause. This sets her on the path into Germany and its inner network.

Ed arranges for Linda to be handed over to Konrad Friedrichs, an elderly master spy who hides her in his Berlin house. Friedrichs introduces Linda to his niece Margrete von Eberstein, a socialite who is secretly an Allied agent in Germany. Linda adopts complex false identities to stay safe.

Linda assumes the identity of Lina Albrecht, a cook embedded in Horst Drescher's high-society Nazi circle. She arrives too late to prepare the dinner, causing a disastrous party and leading Drescher to fire her. The failed fancy gathering heightens the risk of exposure.

After losing her job, Linda becomes the nanny to Dietrich's two children and begins a clandestine search for confidential V-1 papers. She investigates Dietrich's house and tries to photograph any sensitive documents. The search tightens the net around her and the Berlin household.

Ed spots Linda in a newsreel showing Hitler in a parade, triggering his decision to rescue her. He travels to Germany and adopts the disguise of a wounded high-ranking officer to gain access. The risky move marks a turning point in their joint wartime operation.

Linda locates her Jewish cousins’ hiding place but finds it empty as they have just been captured. An Allied air raid adds chaos, and she discovers a hidden room in Dietrich's basement containing the V-1 blueprints. She photographs the crucial documents despite the danger.

Margrete shoots Linda, revealing that she is a double agent. Linda fights back, overpowers Margrete, and kills her, then escapes through the laundry chute. Wounded, Linda is rescued by Ed and Friedrichs as they race toward the Swiss border, with Ed firing his way past guards.

In the present, Linda recounts the mission to a BBC documentary team, explaining that the microfilm was hidden in her glove. The Allied bombing of the V-1 site confirms the mission's success. Linda and Ed have remained happily married since the war.