First published 1989
Four nuns are forced out of their convent when Spanish Army Colonel Ramón Acoca orders a raid that scatters them across the countryside. None of them asked for the world outside, and none of them are prepared for it. Megan, an orphan, crosses paths with Jaime Miró, the charismatic leader of an outlawed Basque nationalist movement, and finds herself drawn to him in ways her vows forbid. Lucia, a Sicilian woman hiding a violent past, runs from a murder charge and finds an unexpected protector in the freedom fighter Rubio Arzano. Graciela carries a secret so heavy it nearly breaks her, while Ricardo, a man who loves her, fights to keep her alive. Teresa moves through it all with a guilty conscience that eventually drives her to turn against the others. The four women are caught between Miró's insurgency and Acoca's relentless pursuit, used as leverage by both sides without ever choosing a side themselves. Sidney Sheldon builds the tension around what each woman stands to lose and what she never knew she wanted.
Genres: drama, romance, historical-fiction, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: dark, emotionally-intense, fast-paced, morally-complex, suspenseful
Tropes: betrayal, enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, found-family
Setting: Spain, Sicily, Basque Country
Period: Spanish Civil War era
427 pages · Paperback · Harpercollins Pub Ltd
Content warnings: murder, violence, war