Chapman's next novel will be published on 25th January 2018.

It is midnight early in World War Two. An RAF Wellington bomber has been shot down by enemy fire – the rear gunner and radio dead.

The aircraft floats in the English Channel off the coast of France. Three surviving airmen are in a rubber dinghy. They are alive. But for how long?

Will Flight Sergeant Ted Wilson's officially issued carrier pigeons – Gert and Daisy – fly home at once to request rescue? No. Pigeons have minds of their own. They prefer to wait until sunrise. Six hours ahead. Which could be too late.