The Island

“Her long dark hair fluttered in the wind, and her walk was tired. The boat rocked in cool waves—there was just one more step to get into it. And that was it—there would be no return to the old life. The heroine of Alex Fielding’s novel wants to learn more about her mother’s past, but her mother carefully hides it: all that’s known is that she grew up in a small town on the island of Crete and moved to London in her youth. During her trip around Crete, Alex comes to the village of Plaka, where a friend of her mother’s relative still lives. The village is nothing special—one of many settlements scattered across Greek lands. Mountains, the deep blue of the sea, and through that blue one can see a small island, shying away as it keeps its pain.

What role did this island play in her ancestors’ lives—and what secrets does the outwardly prosperous life hide?”