Kate Kingsley remembers little of her early childhood, other than the devastation of being torn away from everything she knew in France and sent to live as the adopted daughter of Jack and Thea in Kenya. Now 20, she leaves Kenya for a new life in London. But this is 1936 - a time of decadence, but also turmoil. Kate finds an unexpected ally in her Aunt Dulcie, whose own life is anything but straightforward. When Kate falls in love - almost despite herself - she believes she has found a soul mate. But this is just the start of a journey during which Kate confronts personal danger, faces conflicting loyalties, and must make a heart-breaking choice, before she can find a kind of freedom.