The warm sea breeze ruffles the pages of my notebook as I meet the bright eyes of the elderly lady sat opposite me on the porch. Sofia has been keeping a devastating secret for over sixty years. Why did she fake her own death during the war? And why is she back now to finally tell her story?

Lisbon, 1940. The plush carpet hides her quick steps as Sofia arrives at her suite. She finds the door ajar. Inside, the ornate wallpaper is torn, the mahogany furniture smashed to pieces and her beautiful dresses strewn across the marble floor. Whoever did this was clearly looking for something. Sofia prays they didn’t find it. But she is too late. The young girl she’d promised to protect is gone…

Present day. Writer Lily Christie is at rock bottom when she’s tasked with the job of a lifetime writing the memoir of singing sensation Sofia Castello – world-famous until her tragic death in 1941. So Lily is shocked to hear Sofia is actually in her eighties, living in secret, in a blue-tiled cottage on the Portuguese coast.

Sofia’s remote beach home, accessed only by a bumpy dirt track, is miles away from anyone. She is clearly still hiding from someone, but who? Lily listens in fascination as the feisty woman spins an unbelievable tale of a secret life working for the Allies, hiding in plain sight: and a love affair lived in stolen moments, until a tragic betrayal changed the course of her life forever.

But soon Lily realises that Sofia is still holding something back. What is the final secret haunting Sofia? And can Lily uncover the devastating truth, before it is too late?

A totally gripping and emotional tale of lost love, tragedy and secrets hidden for decades. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Lorna Cook and The Letter will adore it.