First published 2016
Miriam paints in her Roman studio, but a dark figure from her past stalks her through the ancient streets. This mysterious man threatens to destroy the life she has built among fellow artists. Her closest friend Hilda copies masterpieces with devoted precision, her moral certainty as pure as her technique. Kenyon sculpts marble into life while Donatello embodies the innocent spirit of his ancestral Monte Beni estate. When Miriam's tormentor forces a confrontation, these four friends face choices that will shatter their artistic sanctuary. Miriam must confront the secrets she has fled. Hilda discovers that moral absolutes crumble when tested by loyalty and love. The group's bonds strain as they navigate between innocence and experience, art and reality, in an Italy where ancient shadows merge with present dangers.
Genres: fiction, art, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, moral-ambiguity
Setting: Italy, Monte Beni, Rome
Period: 19th-Century
238 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, violence