Spain. A land of eternal passion and unceasing bloodshed. From the vengeance of a pitiless tyrant, four women flee the sacred, once-safe walls of a convent: LUCIA, the proud survivor harboring a murderous secret from the savage clan wars of Sicily...GRACIELLA, the beauty still unpurged of guilt from one reckless, youthful sin...MEGAN, the orphan seeking perilous refuge in the arms of a defiant Basque rebel...and TERESA, the believer haunted by a faith that mocks her with silence. Leaving innocence but not hope behind, they venture into an alien, dazzling world, where each will encounter an unexpected destiny -- and the truth about herself.

作者簡介

Best known today for his exciting blockbuster novels, Sidney Sheldon is the author of The Best Laid Plans, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Stars Shine Down, The Doomsday Conspiracy, Memories of Midnight, The Sands of Time, Windmills of the Gods, If Tomorrow Comes, Master of the Game, Rage of Angels, Bloodline, A Stranger in the Mirror, and The Other Side of Midnight. Almost all have been number-one international bestsellers. His first book, The Naked Face, was acclaimed by the New York Times as "the best first mystery of the year" and received an Edgar Award. Most of his novels have become major feature films or TV miniseries, and there are more than 275 million copies of his books in print throughout the world.

Before he became a novelist, Sidney Sheldon had already won a Tony Award for Broadway's Redhead and an Academy Award for The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. He has written the screenplays for twenty-three motion pictures, including Easter Parade (with Judy Garland) and Annie Get Your Gun. In addition, he penned six other Broadway hits and created three long-running television series, including Hart to Hart and I Dream of Jeannie, which he also produced. A writer who has delighted millions with his award-winning plays, movies, novels, and television shows, Sidney Sheldon reigns as one of the most popular storytellers of all time.

精彩書評

"Enormously entertaining...delightful"
-- Chattanooga Times

"Big, broad splashes of action and crude but colorful characters are Sheldon's trademarks, as he demonstrates again in a new novel probably destined to join Windmills of the Gods and Rage of Angels on the bestseller list. The backdrop for this romantic adventure story is the conflict between Basque nationalists and a repressive Spanish government in the post-Franco years. Pitted against each other in a fight to the death are charismatic Basque guerrilla leader Jaime Miro and corrupt, sadistic Colonel Acoca. When Acoca brutally sacks a convent in search of Miro, four nuns escape at the urging of Sister Lucia, who has been hiding in the cloister since taking vengeance on the men who put her Mafioso father behind bars. Beautiful Sister Graciela, tomboyish, orphaned Sister Megan and Sister Teresa, who is teetering toward a breakdown, flee into the forest with Lucia, where they are grudgingly befriended by Miro and his gang. Before crossing Spain to a rendezvous point, the group splits up to more safely evade an increasingly enraged Colonel Acoca. Lucia's predicament presents an amusing counterpoint to suspense, as Rubio, the simple peasant who accompanies her, kindly explains worldly activities to a woman who knows a great deal more than he does. Not a breath of subtlety touches these pages, but goodwill and lively subplots move the book along at a spirited pace."
-- Publishers Weekly