Daughters of Fire is the first novel of Christine Raffini's trilogy of fictional characters in World War II. Book One brings forth very vivid personalities as she reveals their actions on a wide spectrum from the U.S. and throughout France before and during occupation by the German forces. When Zoe decides in 1932, at the height of the depression, to move from Tennessee to New York so that her aunt Veronica will no longer have to support her, she does not know her life will be changed in ways she could never predict. Working at creating perfumes, a family interest, she focuses on her career, but she is soon sidetracked by marrying Julian, a man she meets in New York. Moving to France, they live a beautiful, successful existence surrounded by expensive artifacts and interesting people until World War II, when France falls prey to the forces of occupation. The interaction of the heroine and of Julian with people in their milieu and with political ideologies diverse from theirs involves them in intrigue, danger, and emotional upheavals. Julian's father has become a powerful Nazi. Readers are caught up in the reality of the situations as they follow Zoe and Julian and the people who work for them or who love them through the horror and nuances of emotion they experience as they cope with changed circumstances and constant fear. This first book of the trilogy reveals the strength and character of Zoe in adventures where the reader will root for her, sometimes be shocked, but always be on her side. A wonderful read - and it's only the first of three books. Christine Raffini