1940: London is about to be ravaged by the Blitz. For Lydia the last beating is the final straw. She has to escape from her husband, and when a gas explosion rips their house apart she flees, taking baby Grace with her. Rejected by her father, and not knowing where to go next, she joins a crowd of evacuee children at the railway station, and her destiny is changed forever as they find themselves in rural Wales. and "Don't Pass Me By and " is the story not only of Lydia and Grace's salvation, but of the lives of a handful of evacuee children transplanted from the city to a tiny village filled with strangers who speak a different language. Torn away from their parents, each child learns to cope - one with a farm full of fearsome animals and a warm, caring family; others not so lucky. From the love and compassion of many, to sinister abuse from a few, the children find different ways to survive their own catastrophes, while Lydia finds what she has always been seeking - but when her masquerade of widowhood is shattered, will she lose everything? and "Don't Pass Me By and " is author Julie McGowan's third book, and the second based in her much-loved homeland of Wales. Her first, and "The Mountains Between, and " became a regional best-seller. Her second book, and "Just One More Summer, and " is a wonderfully intricate read based in Cornwall.