Viola Prettejohn

The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers.

Gracie Burton, an ordinary widow who lives quietly in Devon, splashes out on a week’s cookery course at a beautiful castello in Italy. Unbeknownst to everyone, she is hiding an extraordinary secret. With her estranged workaholic daughter Carina and teenage granddaughter Anastasia reluctantly in tow, the three women rediscover each other and the sensual delights of Italy. And Gracie starts to peel back the secret past she has not faced in over 40 years.

In 1961, Sally Bishop and her husband vacation to Northern Italy, where they get stranded at a remote villa run by the enigmatic Vova, who presides over a household of beautiful, deathless women and their caretaker. As Sally becomes entangled in their world of seduction, violence and illusion, she begins to lose her grip on time and self as her own dark transformation unfolds.