Light Through the Vines

In this tale of fresh starts in the Escape to France collection from bestselling author Fiona Valpy, Gina has lost everything. Can a crumbling old cottage offer her a new life, new love-and new hope?

Revised edition: Previously published as The French for Love, this edition of Light Through the Vines includes editorial revisions.

Gina's London life lies in tatters: she has lost her father, her steady job as a wine buyer and her suave but unfaithful boyfriend. When she also suffers the loss of her beloved aunt, a silver lining dawns in the shape of an unexpected legacy: Aunt Liz has left Gina her beautiful, if slightly ramshackle, house in the heart of Bordeaux wine country. With nothing left to lose, Gina takes a chance on a fresh start.

Throwing herself into her new life in the beautiful French countryside, Gina discovers the warmth of a close-knit-sometimes too close-knit-rural community and the exhausting exhilaration of the grape harvest under the late-summer sun. But just as she is beginning to feel like she belongs in her crumbling but charming home, she uncovers a long-hidden secret that makes her question the one person she used to trust the most. While she's worrying that this is a sign to pack her bags and run, a storm blows a hole in the roof, and Gina finds herself with nowhere else to turn except her neighbour's capable son for help.

Before long Gina finds herself admiring handsome Cedric for more than just his stonemasonry skills...But everyone she's ever held dear has left her or betrayed her. And as the grapes ripen on the vine, can Gina find her way to forgiveness, and could it finally be time for her to open her heart to love again?