Product Review

In her beautifully written debut novel, Ann Howard Creel enthralls with a spellbinding story of past regrets and renewed hope. In Colorado during the last year of World War II, the usually sensible Olivia Dunne, an intelligent young woman who dreams of becoming an archeologist, commits a careless act of passion and must redeem herself by agreeing to marry a man she has never met. Her new husband lives on a remote farm and is himself a reserved, though seemingly kind, man. Overwhelmed by loneliness, Olivia finds friendship and solace in two Japanese American sisters who are living at a nearby internment camp.

While struggling to shape her new life, Olivia learns how powerful-and how confusing-love, friendship, and family ties can be. With echoes of Snow Falling on Cedars and writing that will engage fans of Jane Hamilton and Alice Hoffman, this magical novel is a gentle story of loss, love, and hope.