Notwithstanding

Annette Georges stands on the Pont Neuf in Paris, the Seine churning below her, and makes a choice: death or departure. Betrayed by the man she loved, she has come to the edge of everything. Then Dick Le Geyt appears, a carefree young Englishman whose reckless optimism proves contagious. Together they escape to Fontainebleau, fleeing her pain for something unknown. But when Dick falls dangerously ill, Annette must navigate uncharted territory alone, discovering reserves of strength and cunning she never knew she possessed. Her past resurfaces with quiet inevitability, demanding she reconcile who she was with who she might become. This is a novel about the fragile architecture of second chances, about the courage required to choose life again after it has broken you.