Richard Temple

The protagonist of this World War II novel is a prisoner of the German army in France. In order to keep himself sane while denying the charges and absorbing the beatings of his captors Richard Temple conducts a minute examination one might almost call it a prosecution of his own life. Temple escapes from a blighted childhood and his widowed alcoholic mother thanks to an artistic gift the one thing of value he has to his name. His life as a painter in London of the '30s is cruelly deprived. In order to eat he squanders this one asset by becoming a forger of art specializing in minor works by Utrillo. He is rescued by the love of a beautiful and wealthy woman and it is the failure of this relationship and the outbreak of war that propel him into the world of espionage.