In 1930s Italy, eight-year old Pia Stracci is sent running for her life after fascist soldiers murder her mother and arrest her father. She's taken from the streets of a small Italian village to become the goddaughter of a local mafioso, hiding from Mussolini's wrath. The girl's relationships with the don's daughter and son, a local boy, and her own adoptive parents play out as they come of age against the rage and tumult of World War II.
Romance and tragedy emerge in a grand scale in this tale of love and loss, ecstasy and heartbreak. From the violence of the Allied invasion to the sweet moments of bucolic summer's day, from manic struggles for survival to playful days on the vineyard,
Fruits of the Vine
is an epic tale, lives intertwining as the landscape of the human race is changed forever.
A gripping and fast-moving war romance,
is the new novel from acclaimed author Emmy Waterford, whose
Clan of the She Bear
has already been named, "The New American Classic".