World on Fire recap: The story so far

BBC's World on Fire returns for its second season on Sunday, 16 July, continuing the story of its different characters as World War II rages on around them.

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Given the period drama was last on the small screen in 2019, viewers hoping to tune in to season 2 may well need a refresher on what happened in the first season.

Here is everything you need to know about the drama.

World on Fire recap: The story so far

Season one of World on Fire charts the war between March 1939 to July 1940, and it follows various characters during this period including key players Harry (Jonah Hauer-King), Kasia (Zofia Wichłacz), and Lois (Julia Brown).

Important historical moments that are explored in the show include the evacuation at Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig and the Battle of the River Plate. It does so by examining the events through the eyes of ordinary people.

In season one, the story mainly revolves around Harry, Kasia and Lois. It begins with Harry working in Warsaw, Poland, as a translator where he meets Kasia and falls in love, despite having a sweetheart back in England: Lois.

As this is happening, American journalist Nancy (Helen Hunt) is reporting on the war in Berlin as the German invasion of Poland begins, and the series sees her struggle to report on the facts as she faces increasing pressures from censors.

In Paris the events of the war are shown through the eyes of Webster O’Connor (Brian J Smith), a surgeon from America who is Nancy's nephew. With the war seemingly far away, Webster focuses on his romance with jazz musician Albert Fallou (Parker Sawyers). However, their happiness is dampened by increased homophobia they are experiencing in France.

When the Germans begin their invasion of Warsaw, Harry offers to marry Lois so that he will be able to bring her back to England with him during the evacuation. She agrees, but in the end changes her mind and sends Harry off with her brother Jan.

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Harry returns to Manchester where he is reunited with Lois, he still pines after Kasia and decides to break things off with Lois but she tells him that she is in love with him. Kasia, on the other hand, continues to live in Warsaw and becomes involved in the resistance movement.

Harry decides to enlist in the army after being dismissed from his diplomatic duties. Lois, meanwhile, starts to work as a singer with the Entertainments National Service Association.

During her time with the Entertainments National Service Association, Lois realises she is pregnant with Harry's child. She meets Vernon, a Wing Commander, who is immediately smitten with her and soon proposes to her. After some thought Lois accepts his proposal after giving birth to her and Harry's child.

In the meantime, Harry continues to serve in the army and witness the evacuation of soldiers at Dunkirk. He goes on to join the Special Operations Executive and he is sent on a mission to Poland where he must meet a resistance group.

The Nazis take control of Paris which leads to Webster and Albert's life change forever, while Nancy continues to face hurdles to report on the war from Berlin

The mission leads him back to Kasia, and when Harry arrives in Warsaw he is able to reunite with her, but the rest of the resistance group is captured by the Nazis.

World on Fire premiers on Sunday, 16 July at 9pm on BBC One.

Watch the trailer for World on Fire season 2.