The brightest sunshine-the darkest shadows. Michele Trowel fled her faithless husband seeking refuge with her family in Provence only to find more cruel betrayals-rooted in the Second World War and bearing hideous fruit in modern day France. Middle-aged Michele Trowel returns to her native France after living in the United States for over 30 years. Seeking comfort after her husband's adultery has destroyed her marriage, she heads to Provence, where she was raised and where her favorite Uncle George currently lives. When she arrives at his house, she unexpectedly finds an ambulance pulling away with his poisoned body. Devastated by her beloved uncle's death, Michele goes to great lengths to find his murderer. Readers watch as she works to solve the puzzle of her uncle's death which leads to another riddle involving a hitherto unknown traitor of 50 years before. While she works to find the guilty individual, she attempts to figure out her own mystery of why she stayed in an abusive marriage for so long.

A rumpled, engaging widower accompanies her on her quest and she grows very fond of him. "My novel depicts a woman's journey of self-discovery and healing," Robinson writes. "It is placed against the backdrop of a murder mystery and a depiction of France's best-known far-right political party."".