A reveille is sounded for France in a political parable. Michel Vaillant, a visionary with a sense of mission, writes a letter- to any American whom he can perhaps persuade- and brings Mary Farrant to Abelin, a small southern village. When Vaillant is accused of engineering a bus accident- by those who oppose his hopes of becoming mayor, Mary is instrumental in saving him. Though the mood is dedicated, the tone is tremulous and disappointing from Kay Boyle.