Salvaged from the Ruins: A Novel of 1945

Conflict doesn’t end with surrender. The evidence is in the Ruins. A Canadian Lieutenant Duff Stewart tries to avoid combat but finds himself on the front line as World War Two nears a deadly climax. Hope for a safe transfer is dashed as he is ordered on a covert operation and a hunt for hidden secrets. Karin Werner, a young German woman, refuses to believe the war is lost until witnessing the brutal reality of the last days of the Third Reich and the Occupation of Berlin. In a city of ruins, she must face her own past and the crimes of her government. She will become one of the millions of refugees flooding Europe.
Stewart and Werner meet when she is arrested in the aftermath of the Allied Summit at Potsdam. Both may unwittingly have connections to atomic research. But when the bomb is used against Japan and the war ends the concerns of geo-politics give way to personal survival. As the world settles into an uneasy peace the couple confront new dangers including a thriving black market, an allegation of war crimes and a brush with unrepentant Nazis. The mysterious defection of a Russian agent in Ottawa prompts a spy scare, destroys Allied solidarity and complicates Stewart’s attempt to bring Werner to a safe haven. As the Iron Curtain descends in Europe, they evade immigration regulations and make their way to Canada. Help and advice come from Evers and Maria Chance, a couple with an extensive background in military and political intelligence. Salvaged from the Ruins is set against the events of 1945 in Europe, Canada and the United States.