Two English widows in 16th century Antwerp seek a representative to continue their trading businesses.

Page-Turning Intrigue and Romance from an Up-and-Coming Historical Romance Talent In 1917, Evelyn Marche is just one of many women who has been widowed by the war. A British nurse trapped in German-occupied Brussels, she spends her days working at a hospital and her nights as a waitress in her aunt and uncle's café. Eve also has a carefully guarded secret keeping her in constant danger: She's a spy working for a Belgian resistance group in league...

"This linked story collection employs ... humor and ... pathos across a variety of literary styles to explore what it is like to live surrounded by the unfamiliar: to try to make it as an expatriate, to converse with those who know things by different names, to encounter prejudice, and more."--Back cover.

"Flanders, 1915. David Verbocht, sentenced to death as a deserter, stands before the firing squad and looks back on his short life. As a young man, David was sent away by his parents, after a tragic accident in the family, to become a schoolteacher in a remote village. There he develops a special bond with a sensitive young student, along with feelings for the boy's mother. When fate strikes again, the history of loss and guilt seems to repeat itself."...

"While restoring their farmhouse, the Vermasts have found a skeleton in the backyard. Van In, who happens to be married to the deputy public prosecutor, is determined to solve the case in double-quick time and squeeze in one last vacation before the birth of his first child. But this murder is trickier than it looks. The Vermasts' land belonged to the most prominent businessman in West Flanders before it was suddenly handed over to a right-wing charity....

Winner of the 2004 Michigan Literary Fiction Award for novel A haunting story of the power of death, the pain of loss, and the possibility of hope. "Gripping, damning, and transfixing."--"Entertainment Weekly " ... possesses a time-bending gravity. ... [A] small classic of graceful language and earned emotion." "--San Francisco Chronicle ." . . a beautifully written novel of war and the wrenching grief and unanswerable questions it leaves in its wake....