His wife Diana is persuaded to take over the Colonel's parliamentary seat, and she is supported in her endeavours by her neighbour Richard Llewellyn, a sympathetic farmer with whom she strikes up a romantic relationship. Llewellyn teaches the Wentworths' young son Robin how to fish, thus becoming his great friend.
Three years later, as the war is about to come to an end, the Colonel returns. He has been playing a key role in organising the resistance movement in Occupied Europe, and his disappearance and death were staged by the authorities to provide convincing cover for his activities. The remainder of the play deals with the fallout of Michael's return on the various protagonists.
First performed on stage at the
Manchester Opera House in the autumn of 1944. It then transferred to London, opening at
Wyndham's Theatre on 10 January 1945 starring
Nora Swinburne and
Clive Brook.