First published 2026
Erica climbs the steps of Sacré-Coeur in the summer of 1978, a British student savoring her first taste of freedom before university begins back home. There she encounters Laure, a Sorbonne PhD candidate who drinks too much wine and carries on an affair with a married woman. Their meeting ignites an immediate attraction that transforms what could have been a brief summer romance into something that will reshape both their lives. The connection between Erica and Laure stretches across decades as they navigate marriages to other people, raise children, and steal moments together in secret. Political and personal upheavals create new possibilities for their relationship, yet also new obstacles. When circumstances finally bring them close enough to build a life together, they must decide whether they possess the courage to abandon the safe paths they have chosen. This is a story about the weight of choices unmade and the shadow lives that might have been.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, 21st-century, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, second-chance
Setting: Paris, Sacré-Coeur
Period: 1978, Decades
384 pages · Hardcover · S&S/Summit Books