A KISS GOODBYE - In 1914, the reports of trench warfare have reached Scotland where a fine house, Glen Massan, is being requisitioned for Army use. The residents, including Miss Flora Carmichael, don't know what to make of the officer from a Welsh pit-village or the Tommies he commands. Geraint Cassel knows he's out of his depth, but that's nothing that pitching tent lines on the lawn can't alter. Flora, for her part, is educated, bright and unemployed, because she is a well-off young lady. Can she learn that women can be useful in time of war?

DEAREST SYLVIE picks up in 1916 Paris, full of British soldiers. Robbie Carmichael from a Scots regiment has no illusions left, and hopes his injured young brother can be sent home. Sylvie Renaud, a dancer who entertains the recovering troops, shares a bottle of wine with him one night. The French lady is intrigued by the kilt the soldier wears, but more on Robbie's mind is the fact that the life expectancy of a British officer is six weeks. He sincerely admires the poised French lady, but this is no time to begin a relationship.

FOREVER WITH ME - on Armistice Day, 1918, bells are ringing in a changed world. Sheila Fraser is in Boulogne, having seen the continent torn apart and floods of refugees. She dances with American, French and British soldiers as the crowds cheer. Her nursing work is not easy, but she knows that she'll never go back to being a maidservant for the Carmichaels. French soldier Luc Durand in his powder-blue uniform takes her to his room where the heat of the moment fires their passion. After the excitement however, picking up the pieces in Scotland is not easy for anyone, and Sheila can't imagine she'll ever see her lover again.

The haunting dread of the early stories merges with the sharp pain of loss and clutter of uncertainty in the last. Going to war doesn't make people fall in love, but their love feels more immediate and necessary, so we are not surprised that they give way to passion in what may be an all-too-brief respite. With well-drawn settings in each adult romance tale Marguerite Kaye has recreated the atmosphere away from the battlefields at this awful point in the world's history. Love, and a grand house in Scotland, tie them together in NEVER FORGET ME. Those who enjoy historical romances and are interested in the changing roles of women at this time should find her book an absorbing read.

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