A treasure off the coast of France yields a journey through history in an intoxicating novel about a passion for wine, the complexities of love, and the fulfillment of long-held dreams.
Bente Hammar used to be a popular TV sommelier in Stockholm. Her career in limbo, shes hounded by memories of her father, a wine connoisseur and failed dreamer. But Bente wont give up. Then she hears from a friend whose diving expedition has yielded a shipwrecked treasure off the coast of Brittany: an old bottle of wine with a Swedish inscription dating back to 1944. Translating it, and chasing its curious history, is the fresh start Bente needs.
Didrik Holgersson is a celebrated historian, blindsided when his wife asks for a divorce. Hes questioning his own next choices in life when Bente urges him to participate in her quest. Its perfect timing. Working together, Bente and Didrik head to France and begin to unravel a tangled story of wine, war, and forbidden love during the French Resistance.
In bringing that story back to light, Bente and Didrik discover that after more than eighty years, it also holds the power to change both their lives.
Heléne Holmström is the author of Time to Rise, After Hours, Office Affair, and Working Late. Heléne still works part-time as an associate attorney. In addition to writing, Helénes other interests include food and wine, and she has also studied to become a sommelier. For more information, visit www.heleneholmstrom.com.
Marlaine Delargy studied Swedish and German at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and taught German for almost twenty years. She has translated novels by many authors, including Kristina Ohlsson, Helene Tursten, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Therese Bohman, Theodor Kallifatides, Viveca Sten, Johan Theorin, with whom she won the Crime Writers Association International Dagger in 2010, and Henning Mankell, with whom she won the Crime Writers Association International Dagger in 2018. Marlaine lives in Shropshire in the United Kingdom.