One of Summers Most Anticipated Reads, according to Goodreads, SheReads, and BookishI think Beatriz Williams is writing the best historical fiction out there. Its lush with period detail but feels immediate.Elin HilderbrandThe beloved author returns with a remarkable novel of both raw suspense and lyric beauty the story of a lost pilot and a wartime photographer that will leave its mark on your soul.In 1947, photographer and war correspondent Janey Everett arrives at a remote surfing village on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to research a planned biography of forgotten aviation pioneer Sam Mallory, who joined the loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War and never returned. Obsessed with Sams fate, Janey has tracked down Irene Lindquist, the owner of a local island-hopping airline, whom she believes might actually be the legendary Irene Foster, Mallorys onetime student and flying partner. Fosters disappearance during a round-the-world flight in 1937 remains one of the worlds greatest unsolved mysteries.At first, the flinty Mrs. Lindquist denies any connection to Foster. But Janey informs her that the wreck of Sam Mallorys airplane has recently been discovered in a Spanish desert, and piece by piece, the details of Fosters extraordinary life emerge: from the beginnings of her flying career in Southern California, to her complicated, passionate relationship with Mallory, to the collapse of her marriage to her aggressive career manager, the publishing scion George Morrow.As Irene spins her tale to its searing conclusion, Janeys past gathers its own power. The duel between the two women takes a heartstopping turn. To whom does Mallory rightfully belong? Can we ever come to terms with the loss of those we love, and the lives we might have lived?
