To Die But OnceSpring 1940. With Britons facing what has become known as the Bore Warnothing much seems to have happened yetMaisie Dobbs is asked to investigate the disappearance of a local lad, a young apprentice craftsman working on a hush hush government contract. As Maisie's inquiry reveals a possible link to the London underworld, the country is bracing for a possible enemy invasion amid news of the British expeditionary force stranded along the French coast.