The Lost Girls of Paris: A Novel

The narrative shifts back in time to 1943 and introduces Eleanor Trigg, who lives in London and works for the director of a British government department called Special Operations Executive (SOE). This department was created by Winston Churchill as a wartime initiative and is responsible for helping the allied forces in Europe through “sabotage and subversion” (20). As the novel opens, Eleanor’s boss is livid because the clandestine efforts of the SOE are not working very well; their agents are being captured or killed at very high rates.

Even though Eleanor is his assistant and does not hold a formal leadership position, the Director trusts her and respects her opinion. When he asks her for advice, she tells him that their young male agents are too noticeable because most healthy young men are soldiers at war. Eleanor proposes recruiting women as SOE agents because women will be able to blend in more effectively. Amidst skepticism from the other men in leadership, the Director puts Eleanor in charge of recruiting, training, and managing a covert group of female agents.

Eleanor is frightened and excited by the Director’s approval. She would prefer to go into the field as an undercover radio operator or saboteur herself, but he insists that her skills are too valuable. He also reminds her that she is not a British citizen, and the paperwork required for her to gain entry to another country would be too difficult. (Later, it is revealed that Eleanor was born in Belarus, where her family suffered at the hands of the invading Russian military.) Now, Eleanor insists on having complete control of the operation, and the Director confirms that she will report to him without any other interference.

The novel shifts to 1944 and introduces Marie Roux, a single mother whose daughter, Tess, is currently living with Marie’s Aunt Hazel in the countryside, just a few hours outside of London. Tess has been sent away from the city to protect her from the frequent bombings. Each Friday, Marie takes the train from London to Hazel’s house to spend the weekend with her daughter. She misses Tess and is lonely during the week. She wonders if it might finally be safe to bring Tess back to London, as the bombing blitz has ended.

Marie is reading poetry by Baudelaire in a cafe when a man approaches her, asks her to read some of the poetry aloud, and compliments her on her French. He then asks her if she has a job and offers her a business card printed with the name Eleanor Trigg and an address: 64 Baker Street. He urges her to go to the address on the card immediately if she is interested.

Marie leaves the cafe, confused, but is curious enough to go to the address to learn more. When she knocks on the door at 64 Baker Street, someone sends her to Orchard Court on Portman Square, which she will later learn is the headquarters for the SOE operations. Mystified, Marie goes to this second address and meets Eleanor Trigg, who brusquely explains that her team runs “covert operations,” and that their mission is “destroying things like railroad tracks, telegraph lines, factory equipment and such, in order to hinder the Germans. [They] also help the local partisans arm and resist” (35). Eleanor wants to hire Marie to impersonate a French woman and work as an undercover radio operator in France.

Marie doubts her suitability for such a job. She lies to Eleanor, claiming that her husband, Richard, was killed in action. (In reality, he left Marie shortly after Tess was born.) Marie hesitates to take the job because she would be apart from Tess for a long time and could not tell Tess or Aunt Hazel her location. However, she finally decides to join Eleanor’s team. Eleanor allows Marie to call Tess and Hazel, but she is not permitted to reveal that she is going away. The SOE will send a telegram to Hazel after Marie leaves, telling her that she was “called away for work” (38).

When Grace arrives at work, there is a line of refugees waiting to consult with her boss, Frankie. They meet with a young boy named Sammy, a refugee from eastern Europe. He was separated from his family at Vesterbork, a transit camp in the Netherlands where the Germans held Jewish prisoners before sending them to concentration camps further east. Sammy resists the idea of living in a state-sponsored home for boys, so Frankie gives him enough money to pay rent to live with an older cousin, his only remaining family member.

On her lunch break, Grace thinks about her night with Mark in the bar and his hotel room. She recalls how good it felt to talk to someone who knew her husband, Tom, and who understands her grief. Still, she doesn’t plan to repeat the experience. Later in the afternoon, Grace looks at the pictures that she took from the suitcase. There are first names written on the back of the photos. One is a photo of Marie Roux. After work, Grace stops at Grand Central Station to return the photos to the suitcase. She feels guilty for stealing them but remains intrigued. When she returns to the bench at the train station, the suitcase is gone.

Marie arrives at the large manor house in Scotland that the SOE uses as a training facility. She struggles to keep up with the demanding pace that the other trainees set on their morning run. When she rolls her ankle, a young and dark-eyed trainee named Josie supports Marie’s weight while they finish their workout. Josie tells Marie to pretend that they’re dancing in London.

During breakfast, Josie confirms that there are about 40 women in Eleanor’s program, including those who are already deployed in France and those who are missing or have been killed. Marie, who understood her new job to be primarily that of a radio operator, is frightened to hear that the mission will be so dangerous. She considers leaving for the first of many times.

After a harsh inspection of their dormitory, Josie tells Marie that she is 17 years old. Her father was the leader of a Sufi tribe. Josie and her brother were orphaned when their parents died in a fire, and Josie has spent the past five years unhoused. Marie confesses to Josie that her husband, Richard, did not die in the war; he abandoned her. When Marie expresses doubt about her decision to join the SOE, Josie reminds her that Tess is her “reason for being here” (65).