The Pied Piper

In June 1940, Howard travels to France near the Swiss border to sulk after his offer to serve in WWII is turned down by every government department in London because he is too old. It is later revealed that his son, a Royal Air Force pilot, was shot down and killed two months earlier, adding a personal tragedy to his visit.

When Germany invades France, Howard becomes determined to return home to do his bit. He resolves to go back to England to contribute to the war effort.

Mrs. Cavanaugh decides to accompany Howard to his post in Geneva, but fearing a German invasion of Switzerland, she asks him to take her two children to Plymouth. Howard reluctantly agrees, despite his aversion to children.

They travel by train from St. Claude but must debark at Joigny because no trains run north as the Germans break through Allied lines. The disruption forces them to press on by other means.

On a bus toward Chartres, Ronnie secretly brings along Rose, a French girl, to take to her father in London, which irks Howard who dislikes surprises and children. The added passenger creates new tensions in the group.

German airplanes attack the stream of refugees on the road, killing many. The group continues on foot and a fellow bus passenger’s child, Pierre, is added to their number after his parents die.

They reach Chartres just before the Germans seize the city. Howard seeks help from his acquaintance Nicole Rougeron, who manages to remove the group from danger as German search operations begin, bringing with them Willem and other charges.

The group boards a train toward the Brittany coast. Nicole reveals that she spent three blissful days with Howard’s son, adding an emotional layer to their already fraught journey.

In Landerneau, Nicole appeals to her uncle Aristide, who owns fishing boats and arranges a potential escape with Focquet to England. On their way through the German-occupied town, Sheila’s fight with Rose brings English speech to a German soldier’s attention, and the group is captured at the boat and taken to Major Diessen.

Diessen suspects Howard is a British intelligence operative using the children as cover. He has Howard watch the execution of a spy and then presents a grim choice: take his seven-year-old niece to safety in Rochester if the group is released.

Howard counters Diessen’s deal by threatening to reveal Diessen’s dealings if Nicole is harmed. The threat adds a dangerous edge to the negotiations and tests loyalties on all sides.

Safe passage is eventually secured and the group returns to their respective homes. Later, at his club, Howard is asked whether the journey was difficult, and he cryptically answers, 'No ... not too much.'