Genuinely new story of the Second World War - the full account of England’s last war against France in 1940-42. Most people think that England’s last war with France involved point-blank broadsides from sailing ships and breastplated Napoleonic cavalry charging red-coated British infantry. But there was a much more recent conflict than this. Under the terms of its armistice with Nazi Germany, the unoccupied part of France and its substantial colonies were ruled from the spa town of Vichy by the government of Marshal Philip Petain. Between July 1940 and November 1942, while Britain was at war with Germany, Italy and ultimately Japan, it also fought land, sea and air battles with the considerable forces at the disposal of Petain’s Vichy French. When the Royal Navy sank the French Fleet at Mers El-Kebir almost 1,300 French sailors died in what was the twentieth century’s most one-sided sea battle. British casualties were nil. It is a wound that has still not healed, for undoubtedly these events are better remembered in France than in Britain. An embarrassment at the time, France’s maritime massacre and the bitter, hard-fought campaigns that followed rarely make more than footnotes in accounts of Allied operations against Axis forces. Until now.

Hans Koller is a young German obsessed by his father’s Nazi past.He is also a leading member of an extreme left-wing Palestinian terrorist group known as the Front.His mission? To place a bomb in a crowded Chelsea street.But when the operation goes disastrously wrong, Koller suspects the Front has been infiltrated. But by whom? And for what deadly purpose?In a world where no one can be trusted, Koller's reputation as a ruthless killer has been compromised. And he is determined to get it back. Stephen Dove is a Midlands schoolteacher.His beautiful but promiscuous wife, Emma, is an accidental victim of Koller’s Chelsea atrocity. After losing the woman he loves, Dove is desperate for vengeance.He begins as dogged, obsessive pursuit of the man he holds responsible for robbing him of his wife. An innocent caught up in a dangerous world, Dove tracks Koller across the Middle East, becoming entangled in the brutal world of international terrorism.Both men are seeking answers. But will they get them when they finally catch up with each other in a deadly spine-chilling shoot out?Or will they both end up as 'Collateral Damage'?'Collateral Damage' is a pulse-quickening thriller of politics, terrorism, love and revenge. It is perfect of fans of John Le Carre, Robert Harris and Frederick Forsyth. 'Very well written, gripping…' New York Times.'A stunning debut... This finely observed book by a journalist who knows the Middle East well is bitter, compelling, and, one suspects, too true.' Library Journal'A suspenseful, carefully written and memorable novel.' - Playboy“For the unremitting chill of its violence, few novels match thsi...a top-rank thriller ...reflecting I suppose the insane chaos of a sick, sick world.” Los Angeles Times'A convincing novel...one that is both informative and frightening. Highly recommended.' The Muncie Evening Press, Indiana'Smith knows the twisted ropes.' - The Observer.'Excellent and authentic... intricate background material and well-observed characterisation.' - The Birmingham Post.