{"product_id":"9781908754622","title":"First Time Solo","description":"\u003cp\u003eA distinctive debut novel by a mature new voice sheds light on a previously neglected aspect of war, its casualties and victims, and those forces unleashed by a conflict that changed the world forever It's 1943 and Jack Devine, a farmer's son from the rural North of Scotland, is finally called up to the RAF. Jack dreams of becoming a pilot, breaking hearts, and returning home a hero. The realities of training are very different, with boredom, bullying, and casual violence the norm. Drawn together by a love of jazz music, Jack makes friends with Terry, a worldly Welshman dabbling in the black market; Joe, a fellow Scot and aggressive anti-fascist; and the public school educated Clive. The group form a jazz band to surprising acclaim and for a while an alternative future to that preordained for each seems possible. But the initial camaraderie soon gives way to simmering resentment as age-old tensions resurface. When one of the four dies in a suspicious flying accident, another in the group is suspected of murder. Jack must not only navigate the demands of pilot training, an errant girlfriend, constant redeployments, and a bloody war that is getting ever nearer, but also the ever-present danger closer to home and the increasing realization that the dice are stacked against those like him wishing to escape the shackles of the old order.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Freight Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47137376141552,"sku":"9781908754622","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781908754622_p0.jpg?v=1763621730","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781908754622","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}