Maia D'Aplièse and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home - a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva - having been told that their beloved adoptive father, the elusive billionaire they call Pa Salt, has died.
Each of them is handed a tantalising clue to their true heritage - a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil . . .
Eighty years earlier, in the Belle Époque of Rio, 1927, Izabela Bonifacio's father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into aristocracy. But Izabela longs for adventure, and convinces him to allow her to accompany the family of a renowned architect on a trip to Paris. In the heady, vibrant streets of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.
Discover yourself at the heart of history
PRAISE FOR LUCINDA RILEY
'Atmospheric, heart-rending and multi-layered' Grazia
'Delicious reading' Daily Mail
'A compelling novel on an epic scale' Sunday Express
'Addictive storytelling with a moving, emotional heart' Dinah Jefferies