When Charity Shelborne accompanies her
friend, Louise, to Avignon, she
has no greater ambition than seeing the Roman ruins and the papal
palace. However, within minutes of arriving, she is drawn into a
life-threatening
mystery which revolves about a young English boy.
The boy is David Byron, whose father Richard had been accused of
killing his closest friend, presumably out of jealousy. Although
Richard was acquitted of the crime, Charity soon learns that David’s
elegant French stepmother is afraid of her husband, that Richard is
trying to find David, and that David does not want to be found.
Gossip, David’s assertion that he does not want his father to find him,
and her own encounters with Richard Byron convince Charity that Richard
is insane and violent, so she sets herself to ensure that Richard, who
is closing in on Avignon, cannot get his hands on his son.
Convinced that Charity knows where David is staying, Richard realizes
that he has another lead. When Charity goes off to Les Baux to
commune with the ghosts of Orange and read medieval French poetry, she
falls into Richard’s hands. When she manages to escape, the
result is a car chase across France, which ends in the city of
Marseilles.
Once Charity and Richard reach Marseilles, the mystery takes on a
different complexion, becoming in part a
romance. Then the story
take a further twist when David runs away from his stepmother and also
finds his way to Marseilles.
Since the story is told from the viewpoint of Charity Selborne, it is
only now that the reader realises that there is more than one mystery
to solve. The original mystery of who
killed Richard Byron’s
friend, Tony, is resurrected, together with the mystery of why he was
killed. There is also the question of where David has gone.
All are solved on the outskirts of Marseilles.
The solution to these puzzles is surprising and the outcome immensely
satisfying for the reader. It is a treat for mystery and romance
lovers alike.