An epic tale of impossible love, of families torn apart and a whole world of hidden secrets-'And to my daughter in France, I bequeath the remainder of my Estate'These words, read from the will of Irish academic Richard Kirwan, come as a complete surprise to his grieving family. Solange de Valnay's perfectly ordered world is shattered when she discovers the identity of her true father for the first time. But the truth of Richard Kirwan's liaison with her mother cannot remain buried, and the Kirwan children and their half-sister must overcome their differences and confront the past that unites them. What emerges is an extraordinary tale of an impossible but irresistible love affair, of passion and blind heroism, of sacrifices made for love and honour and of four families whose resistance to the German forces, occupying France during the Second World War, binds them across borders and cultures and through war and peace. (20021018)