"A completely absorbing novel of love, secrets and war"--Cover.

This is a vivid and compelling story of love, war and secrets, set against the backdrop of WWI France. When Iris, a widow who spends her days worrying about her granddaughter, Grace, is invited to attend a reunion, she's transported back to the past: a time when, as a young woman, she followed her 15-year-old brother, Tom, to France, intending to bring him home. While in France, she meets the charismatic Miss Ivens, who runs a field hospital in the old abbey of Royaumont, north of Paris. Iris decides to stay at Royaumont, and it's there that she discovers her passion for medicine, makes friends with the vivacious Violet and falls in love. But when tragedy strikes, Iris has to pay a terrible price.