This historical fiction novel covers 1946 - 1987 and travels from Australia to New York to London. It's a story about true love that endures over time no matter the problems that stand in the way.

1946 - Rebecca is an artist in Australia. Her mother refused to allow her to paint and she finally left home so that she could fulfill her dream Then she meets Edward, a former WWII pilot who is still mentally dealing with the effects of the war. Even though they are in completely different social classes, they fall deeply in love. Rebecca feels that Edward is the only one who has ever understood her and her need to paint. When Edward has to choose between family and love and he decides that his duty is to his family, Rebecca goes to a cliff overlooking the ocean where she enjoys painting and accidently falls to her death.

1987 - Tess is one of the few female editors at a major publishing house and has worked very hard to make one of their major authors a best seller. When she is replaced by a rich entitled man, she doesn't know where her life will go until her boss asks her to take on a new author who is writing about his time in Australia after WWII and losing the love of his life. As Tess reads his book, she realizes that she has a potential best seller in her hands and that she needs to meet Edward in person.

I loved the way that the author brought together the two timelines and especially liked the ultimate joining of the two stories. The twist at the end was perfect and made the book even more enjoyable. The characters were well written with Rebecca and Edward being my favorites. I didn't always like Tess but understood her need to make her stand in the publishing world that was pretty well closed to women at this time. Overall, it was a great historical fiction novel. ( )

Listened to this on audible audio. A modern day 1987 Tess Miller, NY editor gets a new author assigned to her after losing her Best Selling Author to the new handsome golden rich guy; Her new author-Edward Russell is an older man who hasn't published anything since his 1940's poetry book and now Tess Miller has to deal with an uncontrollable writer who has no interest in commercializing his book and all Tess wants to do is prove she is the best and make this book a best seller. As they clash over her ideas on promoting the book -Tess figures out that this book is really based on the author's life and the young artist he loved who disappeared and presumed to have fallen to her death and into the sea. Rebecca Swift, a modernist artist was staying on the Russell Estate and was the love of Edward's life. 40 years later, haunted by her death he writes his love story. ( )