The Invasion

Against the background of the Second World War, THE INVASION takes place in an affluent New England town, where generations of Yankees have dedicated themselves to high moral purpose, and everyone knows his or her place. But beginning in 1938, with the suicide of the Austrian refugees groundskeeper at the Parker Farm School, a darker side beneath the surface of comfort and security is gradually revealed. In increasingly anxious times, old ways must change. Jenny Oliver struggles to understand appearances and reality in the world around her, including her own uneasy parents. As members of the community lavish their benevolence on the incoming refugees from Europe, they turn with suspicion and malice on their Jewish neighbor, Harry Lewis, treasurer of the school and successful investment adviser to many of them, and the retarded American-born German boy, whom the neighborhood children call the Beasty. Prejudice and bigotry lead to the loss of innocence and a tragic death. In what follows does anyone tell the whole truth?