Rural Wisconsin, 1907. In the bitter cold, wealthy businessman Ralph Truitt stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who has answered his advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, but her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, then slowly poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow....

Kate's life as sommelier in San Francisco is far removed from the French vineyard her mother turned her back on a generation ago. Her shaky knowledge of Burgundy vintages has been acceptable--until now, as she faces her final attempt at passing the notoriously difficult Master of Wine examination. And so, Kate returns to the vineyard to help with the harvest and study the local wine, all while hoping to avoid Jean-Luc, a neighboring winemaker and...

In the summer of 1976, Sally Gilmartin turns to her daughter Ruth, a struggling single mother, when she realizes someone is trying to kill her, and is forced to reveal the truth about her past to Ruth, even if it means ruining their relationship forever.

Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie's twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key, one carried by her mother on the day she herself died, to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy. In Siena she discovers that her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei met Romeo and their...

"Paris, France: 1860s. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, molding it into a modern city. The reforms will erase generations of history-but in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand. Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction...

Two families living in 1840s London must guard a secret that originated at the Duchess of Richmond's legendary ball on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo.

The "beautifully complex" (Woman's Day) classic that made Kristin Harmel a superstar follows a woman who must travel from Cape Cod to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother that could change everything. Updated with a new author's note and recipes for this 10th anniversary edition!
At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her, and her bank...

In the mid 1930's two well-educated sisters from Shanghai go to Los Angeles to become brides of the "Gold Mountain men" when their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. When they get there they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months. When one of the sisters becomes pregnant they vow that no one will ever know.

"Doug, the husband of the heir to a historic estate that once housed an arts colony, desperately needs the colony files to get his stalled academic career back on track. But what he discovers when he finally gets his hands on them is more than he bargained for. Doug may never learn the house's secrets, but the reader will, as Makkai leads us on a ...journey into the past of this eccentric family" -- Provided by publisher.

Spanning decades, generations, and America in the 1940s and today, this book is about an Alabama woman today, and five women who in 1943 worked in a Phillips 66 gas station, during the WWII years. Mrs. Sookie Poole of Point Clear, Alabama, has just married off the last of her three daughters and is looking forward to relaxing and perhaps traveling with her husband, Earle. The only thing left to contend with now is her mother, the formidable and imposing...