Code Name Hélène: A Novel

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name. As Lucienne Carlier, Nancy smuggles people and documents across the border. Her success and her remarkable ability to evade capture earns her the nickname the White Mouse from the Gestapo.

With a five million franc bounty on her head, Nancy is forced to escape France and leave Henri behind. When she enters training with the Special Operations Executives in Britain, her new comrades are instructed to call her Hélène. And finally, with mission in hand, Nancy is airdropped back into France as the deadly Madame Andrée, where she claims her place as one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance.

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she — and the people she loves — become. Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true thrilling story of the socialite and spy Nancy Wake, a woman who deserves to be a household name.