Eucalyptus and Green Parrots

Virginia and Clem Reed are Americans living in Argentina in 1943. While WWII rages all around the globe, Argentina remains neutral. But Clem%E2%80%94who works for a cotton exporter%E2%80%94yearns to do more for the Allied war effort. On a trip to the coast, he tells Virginia he has become involved in covert operations to smuggle radio equipment that will help locate German ships. Virginia is furious, especially when Clem leaves to go on a mission and their daughter falls ill. When Clem returns, he is arrested for covert activities, and Virginia must take control of her family and save her husband. Eaton offers a detailed look at a place and time with which most readers will not be familiar and describes an often overlooked aspect of the espionage story: the suffering of the family at home. While Virginia's experience of the war is far less colorful than Clem's, her story is compelling and told convincingly. Eaton's tale never quite achieves the intensity requisite for a tale of espionage, but readers will still be curious about Virginia and Clem's fates.