by Susan Vreeland

Three artists

Three generations.

Three wars.

Eight paintings.

One of the most beautiful villages in France.

A woman, and the men who surround her.

A heartache. A vow. A mystery. A search.

And a list.

In Roussillon, in Provence, the south of France, Pascal, a former miner of ochres, finds his life purpose in providing ochre pigments to painters in Paris, and makes frames in exchange for paintings. His grandson André hides Pascal's collection just before he leaves to fight in World War II, while André's wife, Lisette, whose deepest yearning is to participate in the art world of Paris, must remain in Roussillon to retrieve the paintings.

"Like the painters Vreeland writes about, she too is leaving her legacy -- some of the world's finest examples of historical fiction."
-- San Diego Union-Tribune

"Readers will find the element of passion in all of Vreeland's stories; it is her trademark and her talent, to immerse us in the complex hearts and psyches of characters both ordinary and extraordinary for their creative genius."
-- Boston Globe