Description

In an arrestingly vivid novel spanning seven decades and two continents – from a cloistered 1950s Mississippi town founded by freed slaves to the striking diversity of Paris and Rome in the 1960s and 70s, through the glamor of 1980s Wall Street, to present day New York – bestselling author Rochelle Alers chronicles one woman’s remarkable journey through some of history’s most turbulent eras—and the four men who impact her life along the way. Perfect for fans of Angela Flournoy, Zora Neale Hurston, Sue Monk Kidd and Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

Freedom fighter, brilliant businessperson, devoted wife, master of languages, and ultimately, savior of a European dynasty. Claudia Patterson would become all of these—spurred on by the fiercely powerful loves and losses along the way…

• Denny Clark. An abused thirteen-year-old white boy whose life twelve-year-old Claudia saves—complicating her own life for years to come.

• Robert Moore. A young Black lawyer who becomes Claudia’s beloved husband and partner on the explosive front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. Amid the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, Claudia has a shocking personal encounter—with unimaginable consequences.

• Ashley Booth. A Wall Street executive who brings the glamour of New York alive for the now-widowed Claudia, introducing her to an elite circle of Black peers. But their long yet uncommitted romance leads Claudia to move on—to an overseas assignment at an Italian bank.

• Giancarlo Pasquale Fortenza. An Italian automobile industrialist, once enamored of a young Claudia—handsome, worldly, and twelve years her senior. A man with whom Claudia reconnects, bringing her life full circle in the boldest, bravest, and most unexpected ways…

About the Author

Rochelle Alers was born in Manhattan, New York, USA, where she raised. She obtained degrees in Sociology and Psychology, before started to work. She is a member of the Iota Theta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and her interests include gourmet cooking and traveling. She has traveled to countries in North, Central and South America, and Europe. She is also in accomplished in knitting, crocheting and needlepoint.Published since 1988, today a full-time writer, has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today's most prolific and popular African-American authors of romance and women's fiction. With more than fifty titles and nearly two million copies of her novels in print, she is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, regularly chosen by Black Expressions Book Club, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. She also wrote asSusan JamesandRena McLeary.Rochelle Alers lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island.