Description
The time is that golden summer of 1914, a summer remembered for its glorious sunny days that seemed to roll endlessly forward until the guns of August changed the world forever. The place is the small French Basque village of Salies.Jean-Marc Montjean, recently graduated from medical school, comes to Salies as assistant to the village physician. His first case begins in an unexpected way. One afternoon, as he sits daydreaming under a tree in the park by the river, a beautiful girl walks toward him and demands that Jean-Marc come to her home outside the village to attend her twin brother, Paul.
Paul Trevilleโs broken arm is quickly set, but Jean-Marcโs involvement with the Treville family Katya, Paul, and their father has just begun. Jean-Marc is invited to dinner and to other dinners and outings. He falls deeply in love with Katya and tries to court her even though he soon becomes aware that the Trevilles are haunted by a secret in their past.
Jean-Marc is warned by Katyaโs brother that she is delicate and that he should curb his attentions. But Jean-Marc is young, hopeful, and in love. And, besides, he is certain that Katya returns his affections. When Jean-Marc learns that the Trevilles are planning to leave the village forever, he insists on a final meeting with Katya.
That meeting and the events that follow it turn what was an idyllic romance into an unending nightmare. Katyaโs secret is revealed in a chilling climax that stays with the reader long after the final page of her story is turned.
Trevanian is at the top of his form in this novel, which evokes a more innocent time . . . .a time when the violence that shattered four lives seemed to adumbrate the crumbling of empires that was to follow the summer of Katya.
Trevanian is at the top of his form in this novel, which evokes a more innocent time . . . .a time when the violence that shattered four lives seemed to adumbrate the crumbling of empires that was to follow the summer of Katya.
ISBN:0517548291
