Beautiful alliance, Christine de Rivoyre

It could be the name of a filly, or a schooner, but it is the name of an old house in Les Landes, Belle Alliance, the home where Margot spent her illuminated childhood, among the flowers, pine trees, and horses. It was there that her mother, the incomparable Louisa, so alive in her memory, died a few years earlier, and it was there that she instinctively took refuge when she left Paris on a whim, in a fit of rage. Since Manuel suddenly decided not to accompany her on vacation, during that radiant month of June, preferring his beloved twins, the Leslie-Roses, to his mistress, Margot slammed the door without letting herself be swayed by this father who was too zealous to be entirely honest, who knows? After eight years of an affair, what is more commonplace than a breakup, in truth? So imbued with Louisa, with her charm, with her power, Belle Alliance will be the ideal setting for a sentimental retreat, whose hushed despair and melancholy will gradually blend into the sweetness of returning to her roots. But Margot did not anticipate the visit of Isa, "the blackbird," who instantly disrupts her peaceful schedule. There, on the dune, by the ocean, on the other side of the Landes forest, a family awaits her, an unexpected experience, simple comical misfortunes, real life rediscovered, and perhaps a more serious, more indulgent sense of happiness. Another season begins..."