The memories that haunt you can destroy you.

Time doesn't always heal. The Second World War finished 23 years before but for some, the memory of it never goes away.

Paris, 1968. Four friends meet once a week in a cafe in the Parisian suburbs. They drink coffee, smoke, play dominoes and talk about everything – except the one thing that binds them all – the war.

But a newspaper article about the arrest of a wartime collaborator opens old wounds. Together, they condemn the man for his actions – but are they any better? Did they behave any more honourably during France's nightmare years?

One by one, they recount their experiences while living under German occupation. It is time to confess their darkest moments, those moments that define a life.

'The Darkness We Leave Behind' is about difficult choices and living with the consequences.

Part of The Love and War series, novels set during the 20th century's darkest years. Can be read in any order.