Tender and tragic, set against the turbulent backdrop of wartime Britain, .The Night Watch is the extraordinary story of four Londoners: Kay, who wanders the streets in mannish clothes, restless and searching ... Helen, who harbours a troubling secret. . . Viv, glamour girl, recklessly loyal to her soldier lover .. . and Duncan, an apparent innocent, struggli ng with demons of his own. .Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked-out streets, illicit liaisons and sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, this is an astonishing novel.