The Brighwood Code

As the end of World War II approaches, Edda is struggling as a switchboard operator in Washington D.C. The room she rents is a mess, and she regularly shows up for work late and unkempt. She is struggling and with good reason. Only seven months earlier, she worked near the battle front in France, memorizing many new codes each day and connecting urgent calls that could mean the difference between life and death for troops at the front. She tries not to think about the past and the tragic mistake that sent her home early, but when a mysterious caller utters the word Brightwood, she knows that she has to confront what happened in France and whether she has all the facts about that fateful period. Author Monica Hesse shines a spotlight on the little known work of the brave, hard-working "Hello Girls" through this historical fiction mystery.