Breaking of the Butterflies

Set during World War One, Breaking of the Butterflies is the story of Captain Dillon Reed, who joins the fledgling Military Foot Police of the British Army aftera successful career as a Detective in the Metropolitan Police. Dillon is asked to investigate the death of a potential Victoria Cross winner, Private Skelton, it is in the early stages of the investigation that he is confronted with the murder of the Brigadier who ordered the original investigation. As the death of the Brigadier occurs in French Municipal Territory, Dillon is obliged to engage the services of an Inspector of the Police Nationale of the French Interior Ministry, one Guy Audedert.After a tense beginning to the relationship where egos and national prejudices clash, an uneasy truce is reached as they begin working together to uncover why the two men were murdered. Their investigation brings them into conflict not only on the battlefield but also in the slums of Paris and the streets of London. Dillon Reed is led through the terror of the trenches where the first clues as to why Private Skelton was killed emerge. Establishing links to the perpetrators proves difficult as they are adept at dispensing with potential witnesses before Dillon can get to them, until all the pieces of the jigsaw come together after an incident at the Opera in London when he is home on leave. Dillon reluctantly returns to the front to continue his work of enforcing the Army's rules of engagement thinking that he has uncovered the truth only to find there is yet another level of culpability which he has overlooked. The final showdown on a cold October morning in No Mans Land exposes just howfar up the echelons of command the conspiracy extends…