The second novel in The Great War series: a book a year for each year of the WW1 centenary. Continuing the stories of those characters introduced in Shadow of War, The Darkness and the Thunder follows the terrible trials of life in the trenches of the Western Front and the horrors of Gallipoli. The Thomas family are scattered across Europe and the Mediterranean, The Stewart-Murrays try to continue the heritage of noblesse oblige, but soon realise that that world has gone forever. The miners and mill-workers of Burnley are still preparing to contribute to the cause, while their wives confront the reality of war head-on. Londoners, Maurice and Harry, two Old Contemptibles from the Royal Fusiliers, fight on.