'So glittering is the overall parade - and so entertaining the surface - that the trilogy remains excitingly vivid' - Sunday Times'Wonderfully entertaining' - ObserverAthens, 1941. Harriet Pringle feverishly awaits news of her husband, trapped in the spoilt city of Bucharest. Yet when the young couple are reunited, Guy once again becomes absorbed in his work, leading Harriet to seek the attention of a handsome young officer. But when Greece is defeated and Europe starts to crumble around them, Guy and Harriet are forced to find a new strength amidst the devastation. Manning's exquisite observations on love, marriage and friendship during wartime are brought vibrantly to life.

Harriet Pringle is newly arrived in Athens. Having fled Nazi-occupied Rumania, she anxiously awaits news of her husband Guy, trapped in the spoilt city of Bucharest.

When the young couple are reunited, in the sunlight of a capital still at peace, they have little idea of the problems still to come. Greece is invaded by the Italians and work is scarce; hardly the best time for a marriage to flourish. Guy, as ever, is engrossed in his work and the problems of others, and when Harriet is diverted by a handsome young officer, their marriage seems doomed.

But when Greece is defeated, and as Europe disintegrates around them, Guy and Harriet are forced to find a new strength in a crubling world of turmoil.

Friends and Heroes is the triumphant final book in Olivia Manning's acclaimed Balkan Trilogy.

'One must salute the brilliance with which it is produced - the exactness of sights and sounds, the precise touches of light and scent, the gestures and entrances.' Guardian

'Manning writes always with a poet's care for words.' Stevie Smith