July 1940 saw the collaborationist Vichy regime replace the French Republic after the country suffered heavily at the hands of the German onslaught during the Second World War. So began a period of betrayal, refusal and heroism. While most were convinced by the regime, a small number sought to make a stand in whatever way they could, despite fear and mortal danger. From railway workers and couriers to guerrilla fighters and foreign agents, each played their part in destabilising Marshal Petain's poisonous regime. Here Robert Pike casts new light on the Resistance and its members, using unique first-person accounts and newly translated archival records to highlight how ordinary people - men and women, young and old - refused, protested, fought and ultimately became heroes of the Resistance.