"It is 1919, and the end of the war has not brought peace for Emeline Vane. Lost in grief, she is suddenly alone at the heart of a depleted family. And just as everything seems to slipping beyond her control, in a moment of desperation, she boards a train and runs away. Her journey leads her to a tiny seaside village in the South of France. Taken in by café owner Maman and her twenty-year-old son, Emeline discovers a world completely new to her: of oranges, olives and wild herbs, the raw, rich tastes of the land. But soon secrets from home begin blowing in on the sea waves. Fifty years later, Bill Perch, a young solicitor on his first case, finds Emeline's diary, and begins to trace an anguished story of betrayal and love that will send him on a journey to discover the truth. What really happened to Emeline all those years ago?"--Dust jacket flap.