The Paris Agent

England, 1970

Charlotte, Theo, and Noah drive to meet Remy in Leeds. Charlotte behaves very warmly towards Theo, who is excited to join them. Noah picks up on this dynamic and starts matchmaking efforts. When they arrive at Remy’s house, Noah is very nervous. Noah tells Remy that he has lost many of his memories and is sorry for not tracking him down to thank him.

Remy says that he was furious at Noah for wanting to surrender when they encountered the roadblock where Noah hit his head. Fleur saved his life. Remy hid in a barn and was rescued by a farmer, who drove him away. The farmer witnessed Fleur’s capture by the Germans after she managed to hold them off for half an hour. Now, Remy’s wife tries to explain Remy’s anger; she points out that Noah’s actions at the time struck Remy as suspicious, since they had been warned about the presence of a double agent. Noah tells Charlotte that he barely knew Fleur. Charlotte reassures him that Fleur’s death wasn’t his fault, and Noah uncharacteristically snaps at her. Noah reflects that Geraldine did not want him to dredge up the events of his SOE days.

Paris, March 1944

Eloise must leave the apartment of her host, Madam Celestine, two days earlier than anticipated because her host warns her that the Gestapo have been looking for someone with her exact description. She successfully disguises herself. Later, she is surprised to see Chloe (Josie). They hug and are thrilled to be reunited. That night, Eloise thinks about Giles and their whirlwind courtship. She also thinks of her son and cries.

The next day, Chloe confesses that she heard Eloise crying and asks about her family. Eloise recalls that the last time that she saw her husband, they took a photo together with his hands on her pregnant belly. When he left for North Africa two weeks later, she gave him a copy of the photograph and a set of rosary beads attached to a metal of Saint Michael, the patron saint of the military. Eloise explains that her husband was killed in action; the experience of becoming a war widow inspired her to join the service. After her husband’s death, she received the parcel containing the photograph and the rosary. Because her mom agreed to stay with Hughie, she was able to join the SOE. Chloe confides that she has fallen in love with Noah.

They go shopping. Eloise buys a box with the Eiffel Tower carved onto it; she plans to put the rosary, photograph, and letters in the box to give to Hughie. Chloe gives Eloise a letter to pass on to Miss Elwood or Mr. Turner. They plan to meet up after the war.

In London, Eloise has five days of debriefing sessions. Miss Elwood tells her that she babysat Hughie while Eloise’s mother was on a business trip. Eloise is confused as to why her mother would leave for a trip, but Miss Elwood tells her that Turner arranged everything. Eloise worries about her son.

Turner tells her that there are double agents in the SOE and confides that these agents know the identities of her mother and son. He tells Eloise that her mother was found murdered in her apartment. Turner wants Eloise to return to France, but she wants to stay in London with her son. He argues that her knowledge of Normandy is essential and that they suspect a double agent to be placed at the top of the organization. She decides to return to France, and he tells her that she cannot know where her son is because she could reveal the information if she is tortured. He promises to let her see her son from afar.

The next day, she and Turner sit in his car with binoculars to watch Hughie and his caregiver. She feels very jealous and grateful that the caregiver is teaching him English and French. The caregiver has also agreed to adopt Hughie if Eloise does not return from France. Turner asks if Chloe mentioned her circuit leader; there are rumors about the relationship between Noah and Chloe. Eloise reassures him that Chloe would not break any rules.

That night, Eloise opens the package from Giles. The note from his commanding officer says that he died a hero. She finally reads the letter that he wrote to her and puts it in the box with the rosary and the Saint Michael’s medal.

Paris, March 1944

Josie’s new circuit leader worries that someone close to the top is helping the Germans, but Josie doubts that any of them could be capable of this. She misses Noah and wishes that he had been transferred with her. She also worries about her mom and Aunt Quinn. She is almost arrested in her first week by two Gestapo agents waiting at the apartment. She pretends to have scarlet fever. One of the German guards asks if she knows the courier she is scheduled to meet, and she laments that the circuit is crumbling.

She waits for the new circuit leader at the train station. She is shocked to see Turner, who is oddly surprised that she had such a close call with the soldiers. He has to operate under his real name because his family is so well-known in Paris. (They owned a prominent furniture company). Turner asks Josie to change her cover story and pretend to be his secretary.

The next day, she is startled to realize that Turner’s doorman already knows her new codename, and he says that people assume that she is his lover. She ponders their relationship and Turner’s oddly manic moods. He tells her that the circuit is doing well and that no one has been arrested.

She goes to the grocery store to leave a note in a dead drop for an agent named Campion, who tries to get her to speak to him in person. She is not supposed to do this, but Campion is visibly distressed. He tells her that their wiretap operator is missing, and she says that Turner has reported zero arrests. Campion clarifies that several members of their circuit are missing. She later encounters another agent, Veronique, who informs her that Campion was arrested.

The next time she is summoned to Mr. Turner’s apartment, she finds a note showing that he owes a gambling debt. She adds the note to a pile of papers in her room that she refers to as her insurance policy.

Liverpool, England, 1970

Theo calls Charlotte to check in on Noah. Charlotte is very worried about her dad because he has been very irritable and does not want to talk about the conversation they had with Remy. Charlotte is determined to find Fleur. She and Theo discuss their love of teaching, and Theo shares that he is passionate about history because he wants to help people piece together their family stories. He explains that his birth parents died in the war, and although he never had the chance to know them, he is determined to learn as much as he can. He believes that it might be easier to find Fleur because there were fewer female agents.

Charlotte tells Theo about her mother, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident when she was walking the dog. Charlotte recalls how her fiancé broke up with her shortly thereafter. Charlotte asks Theo how he knew about Fleur’s ankle injury, and he explains that his adoption paperwork describes him as an undocumented surrender. Since the hospital where he was abandoned was near the SOE school, he suspects that his mother was in the SOE. He was motivated to work with Professor Read, who told Theo about a female operative’s “abdominal surgery,” which may have been a euphemism for a pregnancy. Theo poked around in Read’s office and found a single page about an operative named Chloe, whom he thinks might be his mother.

Paris, France, June 1944

Eloise has not spoken to Mr. Turner in two months. She parachutes down into France and meets Marcel (Noah) and Remy. She hurts her ankle in the landing and is frustrated that she won’t be able to cycle 60 miles tomorrow. Marcel shares that he worked with a clever female agent, and Eloise recognizes the description of Chloe.

They decide to drive, but they encounter a German roadblock. Remy takes the injured Marcel to hide in a barn. Eloise drives away and holds off the Germans with her Sten gun for 30 minutes.