The Lavender Garden: A Novel

Note to readers: In the UK, this book is published under the title The Light Behind the Window.

An aristocratic French family, a legendary ch teau, and buried secrets with the power to destroy two generations torn between duty and desire.

La C te d Azur, 1998: In the sun-dappled south of France, Emilie de la Martini res, the last of her gilded line, inherits her childhood home, a magnificent ch teau and vineyard. With the property comes a mountain of debt and almost as many questions...

Paris, 1944: A bright, young British office clerk, Constance Carruthers, is sent undercover to Paris to be part of Churchill s Special Operations Executive during the climax of the Nazi occupation. Separated from her contacts in the Resistance, she soon stumbles into the heart of a prominent family who regularly entertain elite members of the German military even as they plot to liberate France. But in a city rife with collaborators and rebels, Constance s most difficult decision may be determining whom to trust with her heart.

As Emilie discovers what really happened to her family during the war and finds a connection to Constance much closer than she suspects, the ch teau itself may provide the clues that unlock the mysteries of her past, present, and future. Here is a dazzling novel of intrigue and passion from one of the world s most beloved storytellers.