Never to Surrender (Unabridged‪)‬

A heartfelt, sweeping saga of World War II, from the peaceful farmlands of NSW to the Mediterranean's glittering, dangerous shores, from bestseller Mary-Anne O'Connor.

1939. Australian-born Carl Smith loves his country, but he never meant to go to war. He is training to be a doctor and wants to protect lives, not take them. But if enlisting is the only way he can save his German-born father from an internment camp, he will.

1941. Athena Papandrakis has grown up on the island of Crete, swimming in jewelled waters and exploring ancient ruins. Now her home is under threat and she is ready to fight to defend it from the hated Nazi invaders.

When Carl arrives in Crete with Allied Forces soldiers evacuated from the Greek mainland, he and Athena are intoxicated by each other. Carl is not the man her traditional parents would have chosen for her, however, and hiding the secret of his German heritage from Athena could further threaten their love.

As the Allied Forces retreat and the Cretan peasants are forced into guerrilla warfare, the couple find themselves in an intense final stand against the Nazis. For Carl and Athena, it becomes a desperate quest for survival ... and love, loyalty and trust will fight a battle to the last.