Fiora Bellini

A young Italian prisoner-of-war and a local farm girl, Scotland, 1945. A happy secret. A hand-drawn map and farewell note. Then two painful tragedies in a matter of months. These were the circumstances Fiora Bellini was born into, as her classmates were so ready to remind her. Yet, the pain of being an orphan was lessened a little by her ageing granny - and by devoted Duncan. Now in her twenties, her Scottish family gone and Duncan nowhere to be seen, Fiora is gripped with intrigue over a secret in a locket from her father to her mother: a scrap of map, a cryptic note, and instructions for recovering 'family treasure'. The contents of the locket beckon her to the dramatically beautiful landscape of Sicily, where the Bellini mystery waits to be unravelled. But concealed within the picturesque hillside villages are the operations of unthinkably powerful criminals, and Fiora's family secret could damage the oldest criminal - and most dangerous - criminal family in the world. All too soon, Fiora will learn that bearing an Italian name in Sicily means bearing the weight of history, grudges, and unfinished business. Is that why the hotel manager is overly charming, and why she sees movements in the shadows? Fiora must distinguish friend and foe quickly and uncover the truth, both about her family and about the dark history of her ancestors' land.