1943. Wartime Italy. Casa Maria sits at the heart of the small Umbrian town of Amatino, famous for its food, wine and the di Luca and Capaldi families who run it.

But now Italy is consumed by war and everything must change. For talented cook Sophia di Luca, the discovery her father has left the trattoria not to her, but to the volatile and charismatic Giorgio Capaldi, is a bitter disappointment. Still grieving the sudden death of his wife, and in no mood to compromise, Giorgio's return to Amatino threatens everything Sophia has struggled to achieve.

As Mussolini falls and the Germans march in, the two families find themselves in conflict not only with a terrifying new enemy, but also with each other. Annabelle Thorpe's gripping novel does for wartime Italy what Victoria Hislop does for Greece. 'A joyous read, which really spoke to me about the indomitability of the human spirit.

A wonderful book.' Elizabeth Enfield, author of Ivy and Abe