A compelling saga set in the late nineteenth century - As a child, living in a small village in the heart of the French countryside, Therese Daurignac grew up believing her spendthrift, unreliable fathers stories of a secret inheritance. Many years later, at his funeral, Therese looks back at her own struggles to rise above misfortune, and to uncover the truth about her fathers mysterious past, especially the contents of his secret strongbox . . .