Marshall Stone was a pilot who fit the stereo-type portrayed in many books and movies - a hot shot who thinks nothing will ever happen to him. But he does get shot down. I think part of my interest/fascination came from the fact that my father was also shot down but unlike Marshall my dad was captured in a few days and sent to a POW camp. Marshall would have ended up there (or possibly dead) if it were not for the French Resistance. There were all sorts of people who did things to thwart the Nazis but most books and movies portray the ones who saw a lot of action every night. This story emphasizes the ordinary people - from the very old to young school girls (one of whom he remembers was wearing a blue beret!) Many people helped him. He eventually got to Spain. After the war he becomes a commercial airline pilot. He marries and has kids. A good life.
When the book begins he is facing a new phase of his life. His wife has died and he has hit the mandatory age of retirement. At loose ends he decides to go back to Europe and look for some of the people who helped him. He learns just how much some of those people sacrificed to help him and the many other aviators.
(I listened to the audio version from WILBOR but the book is available from the library. This is a book of fiction but the seed of inspiration came from the
author's father-in-law's experience in World War II.)
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