Grace Bradley went to work at Riverton House as a servant when she was just a girl, before the First World War. For years her life was inextricably tied up with the Hartford family, most particularly the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline. In the summer of 1924, at a glittering society party held at the house, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were Hannah and Emmeline and only they--and Grace--know the truth. In 1999, when Grace is ninety-eight...

"From the popular author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph. The epic tale of Harry Clifton's life begins in 1920, with the words, "I was told that my father was killed in the war." A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he's left school....

Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady's maid, Eva Huntford, investigate after a guest is found dead at a posh, but small gathering at the home of her sister, Julia, where the presence of outspoken French fashion designer Coco Chanel and her entourage adds both glamour and tension to the proceedings. Lady Phoebe and Eva are attending when a small gathering at the home of Phoebe's sister, Julia, who has also invited her favorite French fashion designer,...

In the glittering city of 1920s New York, Celia is hunting for her son Michael, who was taken from her at birth. In her desperation to find him, thwarted at every turn, she looks to the valiant girls of an underground flapper army and a runaway boy for help. Then the Great Depression erupts and everything seems lost. But the Depression brings Michael to her, and although Celia has lost her brother and her business, she has her child. They return to...

In the aftermath of the Great War, the De Witt family is struggling to piece together the shattered fragments of their lives. Rudolf and his wife Verena, still reeling from the loss of their second son, don't know how to function in the post-war world. Stoneythorpe Hall has become an empty shell with no servants to ensure its upkeep. Celia, the de Witt's youngest daughter, is still desperate to spread her wings and see more of the world. To escape...

Follows the fates of five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh--as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

In the summer of 1924, at a glittering party held at Riverton House, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were his two sisters - and Grace, a young housemaid. In 1999, Grace is ninety-eight years old and living in a nursing home when a young director making a film about the events of that summer visits her. Grace is taken back to Riverton House where memories that she had long ago consigned to the dark reaches of her mind begin to sneak back...