After college, Allegra has established herself as a book editor and Shep is rising through the ranks of the military. But then Shep suddenly receives a posting to Afghanistan, and they decide to marry before he goes. Between his deployments, they cling to their brief and fraught stolen moments together. Each time he leaves, Shep promises the separations will soon come to an end.

But soon Allegra realizes that the horrors of war have begun to change her husband into a man she no longer recognizes. The trauma he has experienced proves to be too harrowing, and Allegra will find herself feeling utterly alone again just when she thought she’d finally found happiness.

In her new novel, Danielle Steel tells the unforgettable story of a woman who refuses to give up until she finds the joy she deserves.

Still reeling, Darcy flees to Paris to see Zoe. But a rapidly escalating worldwide health crisis forces her to remain indefinitely in France. Suddenly thrust into a gray zone of her own, her forced separation from Zoe and the rest of her family feels like too much to bear . . .

Until Darcy finds a welcoming refuge in the home of the aging French movie star Sybille Carton. There, she meets a widowed American engineer and former Marine who is also stranded. Bill Thompson is kind and courteous but also carries an air of mystery about him. In this shared confinement, and despite worries about her girls, Darcy begins to see glimpses of new possibilities.