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Book Details
Publication Date: April 6th, 2026
Publisher: HQ Digital
Pages: 380
Genre: Historical Fiction
‘A fast-paced, beautifully written, and moving story. Refreshing to read a book set in a different theatre of war. Wartime Shanghai jumped off the page‘
CLARE FLYNN
A poignant story of the impossible choices we make in the shadow of war, for fans of Daisy Wood and Marius Gabriel.
1941. When Zofia’s beloved husband Haru is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, she is left to navigate Japanese-occupied Shanghai alone.
Far from home and surrounded by a country at war, Zofia finds unexpected comfort in a bond with Hilly, a spirited young refugee escaping Nazi-occupied Austria.
As violence tightens its grip on the city, they seek shelter with Theo, Zofia’s American employer. But with every passing day, the horrors of war and Haru’s absence begin to reshape Zofia’s world – and her heart.
Can she still love someone who has become the enemy?
Readers love The Enemy’s Wife:
‘A gorgeous novel that will truly pull at your heartstrings‘
~ CARLY SCHABOWSKI
‘I loved The Enemy’s Wife – a gripping, fast-paced and evocative story about the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during WW2 – and really rooted for the brave and selfless central character, Zofia. Highly recommended‘
~ ANN BENNETT
‘Such an emotional and moving read, grounded in immaculate research that never overshadows the heart of the story‘
~ SUZANNE FORTIN
THE ENEMY’S WIFE (Extract 1)
Deborah Swift
Shanghai, December 1941
Theodore Carter’s footsteps thudded up the stairs.
‘Dad!’ shouted Jimmy, charging out into the hall to grab him by the waist. Daisy followed, with Zofia waiting politely in the doorway. Theodore Carter was a stringy-limbed man with the neutral good looks of a clean-cut diplomat. Zofia liked him; he always paid on time without fuss. But today his face had a ravaged expression, his eyes restless. He clung to his son a moment before asking Daisy, ‘Where’s Mommy?’
‘Theo?’ Evelina appeared across the landing, a mascara brush in her hand. ‘I thought we were meeting at the American Club.’
‘I know. Something’s come up. You need to pack.’
‘Why? What’s going on?’
‘The Japs tried to assassinate Prescott of the China Weekly Press. A journalist for Christ’s sake. He was attacked with a grenade.’
‘Is he all right?’
‘He survived, but he’s leaving. And it’s time for you to get out with the children. I’ve booked you a passage to Manila.’
‘You’ve done what? When?’
‘This evening. Eight forty-five. You need to hurry.’
‘Now? Don’t be crazy. I’ve got to organise the children’s Christmas party for the Club.’ A shake of the head as if to deny what she’d heard.
‘There’s not going to be a party.’
‘Mommy?’ Daisy was getting upset.
‘Not now, darling. What about you?’ Evelina seemed unable to move, as if frozen in place.
‘I can’t come. The Chamber of Trade need me. We’re still lobbying the government back home, telling them the transfer of American assets and equipment is a national emergency. Since our ships stopped calling here, we can’t get anything in and out of port.’
‘I won’t go, not without you. The children need their father.’
‘Let’s go in your room while your daddy’s talking,’ Zofia said, shepherding the children away.
Theo’s voice was audible outside the door. ‘It’s for them I’m doing this. I’ll leave when I’ve secured the business. If the Japs take over our shipping accounts, we’ll be left with nothing. They’re looting everything in the Chinese quarter. Not content with bombing it to smithereens, they’ve taken every lightbulb, every doorknob; they’d take the wallpaper if they could scrape it off—’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘No, it’s you, you have to face it, our time here is up and I just need to salvage what I can, or how will we ever pay school fees, buy us a house, for God’s sake? Twenty years of damn work down the pan.’
Zofia could hear the desperation in his voice, but she didn’t like the way he referred to the Japanese, as if they truly were the enemy. She hovered in the doorway, unsure what to do, and knowing with a sick sense of dread that this meant the only real source of her income would soon be gone.
Mr Carter seemed to suddenly realise she was there.
‘Zofia, can you run to fetch Mai Ling and help her pack the children’s things? One suitcase each, their passports. Warm clothes?’
Zofia nodded, told the children to find their favourite toys, and shot away down the servant stairs, her thoughts in a panic. She knocked on the door of the room Mai Ling shared with Suzi, the female number two cook. Mai Ling was sleepy-eyed and grumpy because it was her evening off. The room was dark, and as cramped as a broom cupboard. Zofia explained they were to pack for the children and Mrs Carter.
Mai Ling gazed at her in shock. ‘Where they go?’
‘Manila. By boat.’
‘Mr Carter-Boss?’
‘He’s staying.’
She looked visibly relieved, but like Zofia, she must be worried about her job, about what would happen if there were no Americans to serve any more. They’d both seen it enough times – Chinese thrown out on the streets after having served years in these luxurious houses.
They clattered back upstairs, and into the children’s rooms. Jimmy and Daisy were full of questions they couldn’t answer.
Evelina and Theo were still arguing outside the door. ‘Can’t it wait?’ Evelina said. ‘I can’t possibly leave today, I have my appointment at the hairdresser tomorrow morning and I was meeting Gloria for mah-jongg then lunch at the—’
‘You don’t understand. It’s not safe, there’s no army here to defend us. The government are doing nothing. Nothing, I tell you!’
‘I can’t leave Shanghai! What about my medicine, for my nerves?’
‘You’ll have to manage without.’
‘I can’t, I just can’t.’ The sound of hysterical weeping.
Zofia tried to close her ears as she folded Jimmy’s school shorts and jumper and rolled his grey socks into balls to squash them in the corner of his case. She turned to him. ‘That’s right, put the Meccano in here.’
Across the room, Mai Ling was doing the same for Daisy, smoothing out winter dresses and little white lacy vests. She was listening first, packing second. ‘Manila. Where is that?’ Mai Ling asked.
The question was never answered as they both cocked their ears to Evelina’s protests.
‘But we’ve been okay so far, haven’t we?’ whined Evelina in the hall. ‘They wouldn’t dare attack us here.’
‘They already have. They raided Hongkew – supposedly searching for Chinese guerrillas. The ones that have been sabotaging Japanese garrisons. They killed the suspects, but foreigners were caught in the crossfire. It was savage. Two Englishmen are dead.’
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Author Details
Deborah used to be a costume designer for the BBC, before becoming a writer. Now she lives in an old English school house in a village full of 17th Century houses, near the glorious Lake District. Deborah has an award-winning historical fiction blog at her website www.deborahswift.com.Â
Deborah loves to write about how extraordinary events in history have transformed the lives of ordinary people, and how the events of the past can live on in her books and still resonate today.
Her WW2 novel Past Encounters was a BookViral Award winner, and The Poison Keeper was a winner of the Wishing Shelf Book of the Decade.
Connect with Deborah:
Website • Twitter / X • Facebook • TikTok • Pinterest Amazon Author Page • BookBub • Goodreads
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