"The dramatic, inspiring story of the extraordinary women recruited by Britain's elite spy agency to sabotage the Nazis, shore up the Resistance, and pave the way for Allied victory in World War II."--Provided by publisher. "In 1942, the Allies were losing, Germany seemed unstoppable, and every able man in England was fighting. Believing that Britain was locked in an existential battle, Winston Churchill had already created a secret agency, the Special Operations Executive (SOE), whose spies were trained in everything from demolition to sharpshooting. Their job, he declared, was to "set Europe ablaze." But with most men on the front lines, the SOE was forced to do something unprecedented: recruit women. Thirty-nine answered the call, leaving their lives and families to become saboteurs in France. In [this book], Sarah Rose draws on recently declassified files, diaries, and oral histories to tell the thrilling story of three of these remarkable women. There's Andrée Borrel, a scrappy and streetwise Parisian who blew up power lines with the Gestapo hot on her heels; Odette Sansom, an unhappily married suburban mother who saw the SOE as her ticket out of domestic life and into a meaningful adventure; and Lise de Baissac, a fiercely independent member of French colonial high society and the SOE's unflappable "queen." Together, they destroyed train lines, ambushed Nazis, plotted prison breaks, and gathered crucial intelligence--laying the groundwork for the D-Day invasion that proved to be the turning point in the war. Rigorously researched and written with razor-sharp wit, D-Day Girls is an inspiring story for our own moment of resistance: a reminder of what courage--and the energy of politically animated women--can accomplish when the stakes seem incalculably high."--Dust jacket.

Part I. God help us ; Ungentlemanly warfare ; A first class agent ; The queen of the organization ; Merde alors! ; To the very last man -- Part II. A thousand dangers ; The dark years ; Alone in the world ; Robert est arrivé ; The Paris of the Sahara ; Our possibilities ; The demolition must never fail ; An obstinate woman ; An endless Calvary ; The swap ; The dog sneezed on the curtains ; Hunted ; When the hour of action strikes -- Part III. Kisses ; A patriotic profession ; A little braver ; The sighing begins ; Death on one side, life on the other ; Your mind goes on thinking -- Epilogue: a useful life.