The White City

A novel which combines a family saga, exotic travel to Peru and, at its heart, the messy imperfect love story of a flawed protagonist. Family secrets are revealed during a quest for meaning in a life. Trapped in a prematurely middle-aged life in rural Norfolk, Edward finds his precariously constructed world is crumbling around him. Determined to unravel his own unresolved mystery and inspired by the fire of romantic connection, he heads for the bright white city of Arequipa, high in the Peruvian Andes, on a quest to find his absent father. A quarter of a century earlier, Judith’s footsteps walk the same streets, as her own life takes an unexpected turn. Pushing past setbacks, she allows herself finally to live in the moment, only to realise, much too late, that choices always have consequences. Back in the present, having thought his goal to be a simple missing person search, Edward discovers much more than he could have anticipated. As he absorbs the magic of Peru and its people, the pieces of his life at last come together. Will he come home at all, and even if he does, can the new Edward be sure of the path he should take?