In the autumn of 1944, an almost twenty-nine-year old English soldier named Jim fell head-over-heels for nineteen-year-old Emelia Sluys. Emelia was staying with relatives on Groesbeekseweg in the city of Nijmegen because her home had been destroyed during the Battle of Arnhem. To his regret Emelia did not share his feelings: she also thought he was too old.