The Paper Birds

Set in the sweltering summer of 1943 in Toronto, The Paper Birds, is a novel about Gemma Sullivan, who works in a top-secret government codebreaking unit in Mimico, Ontario, during World War II Gemma is an orphan, who was raised by her elderly aunt Wren after the death of her parents. Her aunt harbors of a deep love of crosswords and Tarot cards and an equally passionate hatred for war since the death of her own fiancée in WWI. While they are barely making ends meet, last thing Wren would want for her niece is a job that involves anything to do with the war. It’s a good thing then that Gemma’s new job is top secret. Gemma is hired to work at The Cottage, where she and her female colleagues labour under a lifelong oath of secrecy, breaking codes and administering top secret information during the war. On the shores of Lake Ontario, close to Gemma's workplace, there is also a POW camp where Gemma encounters a prisoner named Tobias. She talks to Tobias through the fence even though she's at risk of losing her job, or worse, if she's caught fraternizing with the enemy. After several weeks of risky conversations, Tobias disappears from the camp. As Gemma is pulled deeper into her cryptology work, she becomes an integral part of the codebreakers’ circle. While she loves her work, Gem didn’t anticipate the tremendous psychological strain it would take. The job threatens to drive a wedge between Gem and her beloved aunt, as she struggles with the burden of secrecy. When Gemma unexpectedly runs into Tobias outside of the prison, Gemma's world is turned upside down and they are both forced to confront the secrets they've been keeping from each other. The Paper Birds is a love story that reveals the struggles and sacrifices of every day working women during the war and highlights the previously unknown codebreaking work undertaken by women in Canada during WWII.