In 1865, when beautiful Laure Fremont marries Philippe Beynac, she believes the course of their love will flow as smoothly as the golden wine at their chateau in the Dordogne. But beneath the gaiety and splendour, a terrible blight is threatening their cherished vineyard. And then, with the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Laure finds she is losing everything she holds most dear …

          So begins one woman’s struggle for both herself and her child’s survival in an alien world, and a fight to restore the estates which are her heritage. She faces agonising choices, and conflicting demands: Henri Seguier, the rich neighbour who offers her a love which she can never return; Jean-Claude, the romantic painter, who loves with a passion that will haunt Laure forever; and the solemn, kindly Charles De Miremont, whom she realises she can use for her own desperate ends.

          And even when the dark clouds of war again intrude and the threads of Laure’s life are once more pulled apart, her spirit will never be broken …