Skip to Main Content

About The Book

FROM THE ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF THE LAST PEARL AND DANCING AT THE VICTORY CAFE, this is a beautiful novel about family secrets and redemption.

1930s, London. Caroline grew on a secluded Scottish estate with her 'Aunt' Phoebe. But the shocking realisation that Phoebe is actually her mother fuels a rebellious streak in Caroline, who elopes to Cairo to get married. But her marriage quickly turns sour and leads to an affair with an old lover, and to a baby boy, Desmond. With her personal life in tatters and WWII approaching, she volunteers as a secret agent, smuggling valuable information into Europe for the British government. But when Caroline finally returns from the war, Desmond is gone. Will she be able to track him down?

2002, Australia. When Melissa discovers a postcard addressed to 'Desmond' among her recently deceased father's effects, she is determined to discover this person's identity and his relationship to her father. She embarks on a journey that will take her across oceans to discover more about her family's past.

Praise for Leah Fleming
'I enjoyed it enormously.It's a moving and compelling story about a lifetime's journey in search of the truth' RACHEL HORE
'A born storyteller' KATE ATKINSON

About The Author

Leah Fleming was born in Lancashire and was married with three sons and a daughter. She wrote from an old farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales and an olive grove in Crete.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (July 31, 2014)
  • Length: 416 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780857204028

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

‘A fabulous story of people, places and pearls from a master storyteller’

– Lancashire Evening Post on The Last Pearl

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Leah Fleming