Bubbly, creamy, a perfect deep gold - this was the champagne of the venerable House of Peine, one of France's oldest and most distinguished chateaux. Russian Tsars had begged for it, English Kings had toasted with it, but now Clementine Peine, the last of the line, fears that the days of the House are numbered. Her father Olivier spent more time at the local bar than tending to the vines , and her long-lost sister Mathilde has never shown an interest - until Olivier's untimely death , when Mathilde turns up determined to make the most of this dwindling asset. And then, out of the blue, a third sister appears - lovely young Sophie - and ancient family rivalries, long-ago love affairs and forgotten scandals all come bubbling up to the surface. Clementine, Mathilde and Sophie, daughters of Champagne, have nothing in common but broken hearts - yet if their birthright is to survive they need less peine and more joie - or a miracle...

Author Biography

Sarah-Kate Lynch has been a journalist for more than twenty years (she started, she claims, when she was seven) but far prefers making things up to trying hard not to. Her first three novels are published by Black Swan. She hopes one day to be able to say that she spends her time between her homes in Auckland, Dublin and New York. At this stage, however, she only has one home and that is in Auckland. In Dublin and New York she sponges off her friends like anyone else.