The Brass Compass: A Novel

From international bestselling author, Ellen Butler, comes an award winning historical fiction novel inspired by true events.

A beautiful American spy flees into the night, hunted by the SS. Alone and exposed, she must outwit her enemies and cross enemy lines to reach the safety of Allied forces.

Lily Saint James grew up roaming Europe, mastering languages and blending into foreign cultures. But when her mother's sudden death calls her back to Washington, D.C., and Pearl Harbor plunges the U.S. into war, Lily's life takes a dangerous turn. Recruited by the newly formed Office of Strategic Services (OSS), her gift for languages lands her deep behind enemy lines — undercover as a nanny in the home of a powerful German colonel.

But when her key contact vanishes and a midnight rendezvous turns deadly, Lily is forced to flee into the freezing night, carrying false papers and a mini film cartridge packed with critical intelligence. Every step toward Allied-controlled France brings new dangers — ruthless SS agents, suspicious locals, treacherous terrain — and with each heartbeat, the stakes rise.

The Brass Compass is an award-winning WWII spy novel that pulls readers into the heart-pounding world of espionage, resistance, and survival. Fans of The Lost Girls of Paris, Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, Kate Quinn's The Alice Network , and those who enjoy stories of daring women operatives will be swept up in Lily's breathtaking journey — a tribute to the real-life heroines whose courage shaped the course of history.

Ellen Butler is a bestselling novelist writing critically acclaimed suspense thrillers, and award winning romance. The Brass Compass was inspired by the brave women who served in the OSS, British Special Operations Executive and French Resistance. Ellen is a member of The OSS Society and her fascination with WWII history originally piqued when her grandfather revealed his role as a cryptographer during the war. The Brass Compass is her debut into the historical fiction genre. She also holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration and Policy, and her history includes a long list of writing for dry, but illuminating, professional newsletters and windy papers on public policy. She lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. with her husband and two children.