Confetti Rain: Historical Fiction of Escape from Nazi-Occupied France during World War II

by Frank H. Stephenson

When Devon, a mix of MacGyver and Sheldon, crash lands in Nazi-occupied France, his urgent mission becomes not one of escape, but one of rescue—to find his brother who may still be alive after bailing from an American bomber just moments before. On this hero’s journey, he is sidetracked by a young woman, Claire, who trades her knowledge of France for Devon’s help in recovering her father, arrested as a suspected member of the French Resistance. A relentless adversary pursues them at every turn. All the while, Devon carries with him the burden of a terrible secret that could destroy any hope he has of enlisting the help he needs in finding his brother—a secret that could also crush any chance he has at winning Claire’s heart. An escape from the gates of the notorious Fresnes Prison, and a wander candlelit through the formidable maze of the French Catacombs, takes them into the very belly of the Nazi Luftwaffe beast. They must find a way to work together to stay one step ahead of capture, and return Devon’s brother back to the safe shores of Britain.

203 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2025

About the author

Frank H. Stephenson received his PhD in molecular biology from UC Berkeley and performed postgraduate work at UC San Francisco Medical School. He spent several years with Berlex Biosciences as a senior research scientist prior to joining the Technical Training Department at Life Technologies, where he teaches forensics, DNA sequencing, and real-time PCR. Frank has taught molecular biology with the UC Berkeley Extension program and, for ten years, served as a part-time faculty member with Foothill College, where he conducted evening classes in PCR. Dr. Stephenson has published several books in the biotech field, including DNA: How the Biotech Revolution Is Changing the Way We Fight Disease and Calculations for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: A Guide to Mathematics in the Laboratory. This textbook evolved from summer workshops in forensic and DNA analysis given at Life Technologies to high school teachers and students in collaboration with his coauthor, Mark Okuda.