WILL COMBINE BOOKS TO SAVE POSTAGE...=LARGE SIZE - SOFT COVER - In this deeply moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel, a determined young woman must survive a series of abandonments to find a love that is worthy of her. When she is only six years old, Allegra Dixon's party-loving mother leaves without so much as a goodbye. Her father, an emotionally distant military officer, is also unable--or unwilling--to care for her. Sent to live like a ghost in her grandparents' joyless home, Allegra finds her only solace through an escape into books.Recently divorced New Zealander Sam Nola returns to London, where he spent two years in his early twenties. It is early 2003, and on both sides of Atlantic the case for military intervention in Iraq is being made - or fabricated. But life for Sam has never been better: a grown-up, half-French daughter from a long ago affair has recently got in touch, and he has walked into a lucrative role in the booming banking sector. It is only when he learns of the deaths of two friends within a week that intrigue begins to intrude on his contentment, that life begins to feel a little more precarious.