His sabbatical in Europe cut abruptly short by the opening hostilities of the First World War, Charlie Durand, a professor of romance languages, finds himself caught up with a wave of Belgian refugees fleeing to London. Rescued, as it were, by Audrey Rushworth, a flustered yet determined noblewoman, Charlie is hustled off to the English countryside. Only, Charlie isn't really a refugee . . . Playful and insightful, Edith Wharton's "The Refugees" reflects the author's experience supporting refugees in Paris during the First World War.
