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From the original queen of the page-turner, Mary Stewart, comes a thrilling tale set in a France as beautiful as it is deadly, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. 'Mary Stewart is magic' New York Times 'One of the great British storytellers of the 20th century' Independent'There are few to equal Mary Stewart' Daily TelegraphHigh in the rugged Pyrenees lies the Valley of the Storms, where a tiny convent clings to the beautiful but lonely mountainside. Jenny Silver arrives seeking her missing cousin, and is devastated when she learns of Gillian's death following a terrible car accident. But Jenny's suspicions are aroused when she's told the blue flowers ornamenting her cousin's grave were Gillian's favourite. Jenny knows Gillian was colour-blind - and so starts her mission to uncover what really happened to her.The growl and roar of thunder rolled an re-echoed from the mountains and the sword of the lightning stabbed down, and stabbed again, as if searching through the depths of the cringing woods for whatever sheltered there.'A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors.' Harriet Evans'She built the bridge between classic literature and modern popular fiction. She did it first and she did it best.' Herald''One of the most stupendously successful authors ever' Sunday Express

The tense, twisty murder mystery which will have you on the edge of your seat, from the original queen of romantic suspense 'Mary Stewart is magic' New York Times Following a heart-breaking divorce, Gianetta retreats to the Isle of Skye hoping to find tranquillity in the island's savage beauty. But shortly before her arrival a girl's body is found on the craggy slopes of the looming Blue Mountain, and with the murderer still on the loose, there's nothing to stop him from setting his sights on Gianetta next . . .Praise for Mary Stewart:'There are few to equal Mary Stewart' Daily Telegraph'One of the great British storytellers of the 20th century' Independent'A natural successor to Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte' Guardian'Total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors' Harriet Evans'She set the benchmark for pace, suspense and romance - with a great dollop of escapism as the icing' Elizabeth BuchanWhat readers have said about Wildfire at Midnight:'Could not put the book down, from start to finish! Absolutely brilliant! A great writer. Thank you Mary Stewart''I've read and re-read it countless times . . . wonderful setting for the plot, evocative and captivating writing, I love this book''If you like a beautiful heroine with pluck, a handsome hero, danger and strong descriptive passages this is a book for you''A fabulous fast paced read . . . Stewart keeps you guessing to the very end with a doozy of a nail-biting finish set amongst the swirling mists, shifting bogs and the rocky crags of the Cuillin'

A brilliant "e;what if"e; novel of the years after WW2 for fans of SS-GB and The Man in the High Castle.1953. Britain and her Empire are diminished. Nazi Germany controls Europe and a vast African territory. There has been no Holocaust. Instead, the Jews have been exiled to Madagaskar, a tropical ghetto ruled by the SS.Returning home after a disastrous mission to Africa, ex-mercenary Burton Cole finds his lover has disappeared. Desperate to discover her, he is drawn into a conspiracy that will lead him back to the Dark Continent.Meanwhile Walter Hochburg, Nazi Governor of Kongo, has turned his attention to Madagaskar. Among the prisoners are scientists who could develop him a weapon of unimaginable power.But Hochburg is not the only one interested in Madagaskar. The British plan to destroy its naval base to bring America into a war against the Reich. They have found the ideal man for the task: Reuben Salois, the only Jew to have escaped the ghetto. The only one brave, or foolhardy, enough to return.These three men will converge on Madagaskar. The fate of the world is in their hands...Drawing on the Nazis' original plans for the Jews, Guy Saville has meticulously imagined a world-that-nearly-was to tell an epic tale of love, revenge and survival.

The original queen of the page-turner Mary Stewart leads her readers on a thrilling journey through a dangerous and deadly Provence in this tale perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. 'Mary Stewart is magic' New York Times'One of the great British storytellers of the 20th century' Independent'The terrible thirsty heat of the Proven al summer, the noise of the cicadas, the dust of the country buses . . . an excellent tale of mystery' The TimesIt sounds idyllic: a leisurely drive through the sun-drenched landscape of Provence. But Charity's dream holiday turns into a nightmare when she becomes embroiled in a sinister plot to kidnap a young boy. She soon finds herself in a deadly pursuit and must uncover who to trust . . . and who to fall for. Whenever I look back now on the strange and terrifying events of that holiday in Southern France, I remember the minutes I spent gazing at the golden arches of the Roman aqueduct over the Gardon... the last brief lull before the thunder.'A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors.' Harriet Evans'She built the bridge between classic literature and modern popular fiction. She did it first and she did it best.' Herald

What if Dunkirk had been the end of Britain's war against the Nazis?'Fatherland for an action movie age.' Daily Telegraph1952. It is more than a decade since humiliation at Dunkirk brought an end to Britain's war and the beginning of an uneasy peace with Hitler.In Africa, the swastika flies from the Sahara to the Indian Ocean. Gleaming autobahns bisect the jungle, jet fighters patrol the skies. The brutal presence of the SS is visible everywhere. Now, however, the demonic plans of Walter Hochburg - architect of Nazi Africa - threaten Britain's ailing colonies.In England, ex-mercenary Burton Cole is offered one last contract. Burton jumps at the chance to settle an old score with Hochburg, despite the protests of the woman he loves. If Burton fails, unimaginable horrors will be unleashed in Africa. No one - black or white - will be spared.But when his mission turns to disaster, Burton is forced to flee for his life. His flight takes him from the unholy killing ground of Kongo to SS slave camps and on to war-torn Angola, finally reaching its thrilling climax in a conspiracy that leads to the dark heart of the Afrika Reich itself.Guy Saville combines meticulous research with edge-of-the seat suspense to produce a superb novel of alternate history.

'You don't really grow up until you either have a kid or one of your parents dies.' Glamorously carefree and nearing forty, Tess shows no sign of settling down. That is, until she drops a bombshell on four of her friends: she's pregnant, and has chosen them as godparents. Yet while they rally round the single mother, each one is struggling to face the realities of adulthood. Sierra may be only twenty-three but her mother is so irresponsible that she's had to grow up fast. Michael is too busy searching for Mrs Right to worry about collecting the essential accessories of spice racks or investment saucepans, while Owen eases the pain of a mid-life identity crisis with a string of unsuitable fianc es. Only Lucy has the trappings and offspring of a proper grown-up, but is terrified of ageing. On a challenging and hilarious journey through birth, Botox, bad sex and beyond, all five friends must discover that while growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional . . .

Out of the blue, your husband of thirty years asks you for a pause in your marriage to indulge his infatuation with a young Frenchwoman.Do you:a) assume it's a passing affair and play alongb) angrily declare the marriage overc) crack upd) retreat to a safe haven and regroup?Mia Fredricksen cracks up first, then decamps for the summer to the prairie town of her childhood, where she rages, fumes, and bemoans her sorry fate as abandoned spouse. But little by little, she is drawn into the lives of those around her; her mother and her circle of feisty widows, her young neighbour, with two small children and a loud, angry husband; and the diabolical pubescent girls in her poetry class. By the end of the summer without men, wiser though definitely not sadder, Mia knows what she wants to fight for and on whose terms.Provocative, mordant, and fiercely intelligent, The Summer Without Men is a gloriously vivacious tragi-comedy about women and girls, love and marriage, and the age-old war between the sexes - a novel for our times by one of the most acclaimed American writers.

From the author of the bestselling Danny Black series and hit TV show Strikeback. Former SAS legend Chris Ryan brings you his sixteenth novel and it is full of all his trademark action, thrills and inside knowledge.2003. Invalided out of the SAS Chet Freeman makes his living in high-end security, on a temporary contract for an American corporation called the Grosvenor Group. He catches a young woman, a peace campaigner, eavesdropping on a meeting the Group is holding with the British Prime Minister. The Group's interests include arms manufacture, and what Chet and the young woman overhear seems to imply that it is bribing the Prime Minister to take his country into an illegal war. Could this possibly be true? Somebody believes that this is a secret that needs covering up, because Chet and the girl are attacked. Hunted down, they go into hiding, and a deadly game of cat and mouse begins.Nearly ten years later tension is reaching breaking point in Jerusalem. The now ex-Prime Minister is working as a Middle East peace envoy. As the city descends into anarchy and rival armies are poised to turn it into a battlefield, Chet's best buddy, Luke, is part of a team tasked by the Regiment with extracting the ex-Prime Minister.At the height of the battle Luke discovers a conspiracy far more devastating than any arms deal.

From the author of the bestselling Danny Black series and the hit TV show Strikeback.The guys in the Regiment know they face their fiercest enemies when they fight the Taliban. No-one is tougher, more deadly - or more cunning. And if they enter the Taliban's kill zone, they know just what to expect...When three deadly Stinger missiles go missing in Helmand Province, the Regiment is tasked to retrieve the weapons at all costs. SAS legend Jack Harker has a mission to lead an eight-man team into a suspected Taliban facility. He's suspicious about what the aims of the mission really are - and it's about to get noisy.Meanwhile, in Belfast, Siobhan Byrne, a highly trained surveillance operative, is infiltrating the drug crew of a former IRA commander. But are her motives professional or personal? Even she doesn't know any more.Neither Jack nor Siobhan can guess just how closely linked their operations are about to become, or just what's at stake. But as the President of the United States makes plans to visit the UK, a devastating plot unfolds.

Seventy years ago, Europe lay at Hitler's feet. Britain faced its darkest hour - outnumbered and friendless as the German army continued its advance. Defeat or capitulation seemed inevitable. But instead a legend was born. Taking its readers on a breathtaking journey from open lifeboats in Atlantic gales to the cockpits of burning fighter-planes, and through cities devastated by the Blitz, FINEST HOUR recreates the terror, the tragedy and the triumph of the Battle of Britain. This powerful account of the events of 1940 is told through the voices, diaries, letters and memoirs of the men and women who lived, loved, fought and died during this terrible yet inspiring year. FINEST HOUR blends original historical research with the experiences of ordinary people in desperate times. Cutting through the nostalgic haze, this book enables readers to experience a time - still within living memory - when a nations's darkest hour became its finest.

From the author of the bestselling Danny Black series and the hit TV show Strikeback.Despatches from the secret world behind the headlines. Former SAS legend Chris Ryan brings you his seventeenth novel, filled with his trademark action, thrills and inside knowledge. Osama Bin Laden is dead.The President of the United States knows it. The world knows it. And SAS hero Joe Mansfield knows it. He was on the ground in Pakistan when it happened. He saw Seal Team 6 go in, and he saw them extract with their grisly cargo. He was in the right place at the right time.Or maybe, the wrong place at the wrong time.Because now, somebody wants Joe dead, and they're willing to do anything to make it happen. His world is violently dismantled. His family is targeted, his reputation destroyed. And as a mysterious and ruthless enemy plans a devastating terror attack on both sides of the Atlantic, Joe knows this: his only chance of survival is to find out what happened in Bin Laden's compound the night the Americans went in.But an unseen, menacing power has footprints it needs to cover. And it will stop at nothing to prevent him uncovering the sinister truth...

Lorna Byrne sees and talks with angels every day of her life and has done since she was a baby. As a child Lorna was told by the angels that her job on this earth was to share the wisdom and knowledge that God and the angels were giving her. When Lorna s husband died, her world fell apart. In Stairways to Heaven she tells the story of how she pulled her life back together and how she, an uneducated mother of four, broke her silence and started to spread the angels message to the world. Lorna tells us of the future that God envisages for us and some possible other futures, depending on the decisions we make. Everyone must play their part , she says. She reveals some of the most extraordinarily detailed information about angels and the way they work in the world, that has ever been written down. She also introduces us to the Guardian Angel of the Earth and explains why it is so important that we listen to him. She tells the tragic love story of two spirits who she met first as a young child. These spirits stayed close to her for twenty years using Lorna s spiritual gifts to heal those who had done them wrong and also to heal the descendants of those wrongdoers, whose lives were still being overshadowed. The overwhelming reaction of readers to Lorna s writing regardless of religious belief is that it gives them hope, helping them to realise that no matter how alone they might feel they have a guardian angel by their side.

Stephen Gately brought joy to many millions of fans throughout the world. In the months before his tragic death, he wrote this, his first novel, The Tree of Seasons. When Josh, Michael and Beth Lotts catch sight of some mysterious lights one summer s evening, they are drawn into a dense forest near their home where no one dares ever go. What they find there is incredible. The Tree of Seasons is a doorway into another world. There are four kingdoms in this world, each forever stuck in spring, summer, autumn and winter and each with its own ruler. The tree and the world it conceals have existed for hundreds of years and have never been uncovered by anyone, until now. The Lotts find that peace has been shattered in this magical world. One ruler, who bears a remarkable resemblance to their aunt is intent on power at all costs. She causes destruction and suffering that threaten to tear worlds apart. Josh, Michael and Beth have arrived just in time to take part in the battle that the other three kingdoms have to fight in order to survive. The Tree of Seasons is a beautiful story of good and evil and a vividly imagined portrait of a world beyond our own.

The seventh book in the phenomenally successful Thursday Next series by Number One bestselling author Jasper Fforde. 'Fans of the late Douglas Adams, or, even, Monty Python, will feel at home with Fforde' - HeraldThe BookWorld's leading enforcement officer Thursday Next is four months into an enforced semi-retirement following an assassination attempt. She returns home to Swindon for what you'd expect to be a time of recuperation. If only life were that simple. Thursday is faced with an array of family problems - son Friday's lack of focus since his career in the Chronoguard was relegated to a might-have-been, daughter Tuesday's difficulty perfecting the Anti-Smote shield needed to thwart an angry Deity's promise to wipe Swindon off the face of the earth, and Jenny, who doesn't exist. And that's not all. With Goliath attempting to replace Thursday at every opportunity with synthetic Thursdays, the prediction that Friday's Destiny-Aware colleagues will die in mysterious circumstances, and a looming meteorite that could destroy all human life on earth, Thursday's retirement is going to be anything but easy . . .

A life lived on the road and a heart that will always belong thereImagine being born into a world where communities are constantly on the move, but freedom is not a birthright. Rosie grew up travelling all over England and Ireland in her family's caravan. She had an idyllic childhood roaming fields and meadows with her younger brothers and sisters - free from the trappings of modern life, but restricted by the expectations of her culture.When Rosie was 14, the family's happiness was shattered when her grandfather - who was loved and respected by the whole community - was killed in a tragic accident. Suddenly everything in Rosie's life unravelled and she was forced to abandon the traditional way of life she loved. Her family fell apart in grief and Rosie tried her best to take care of her younger siblings and hold the family together.Eventually though life at home became unbearable and Rosie met Stevie, a traveller boy who promised her a different kind of life. Sadly though, Stevie was battling his own demons and Rosie's journey to freedom had only just begun...

If you've been enjoying her latest novels Sail Away and Nice Work (If You Can Get It), do not miss Celia Imrie's fantastic original memoir The Happy Hoofer.'I've always been wilful ... I've always been stubborn and always determined.' One of our best-loved actresses, Celia Imrie would rather have been a dancer. As a child she planned to join the Royal Ballet and marry Rudolf Nureyev. Now she has become one of our finest and funniest performers, on stage, TV and screen - adored for her roles in Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies, as well as films including Calendar Girls and Nanny McPhee.In her hugely entertaining autobiography, Celia Imrie recounts a life hurtling (not always intentionally) into adventures both on stage and off. Whether it's finding herself on stage with half the scenery stuck to her cardigan, or being kidnapped on her way to location. Somehow she emerges from the chaos that can lie in her wake almost unscathed. Acting, she admits, is a mad, chaotic profession and it is her refreshing honesty, sense of mischief, fun and almost unruffled determination in the face of it all that makes this autobiography a never-ending delight.

You're twelve years old. Your mother's a junkie and your father might as well be dead. You can't read or write, and you don't go to school. An average day means sitting round a bonfire with your mates smoking drugs, or stealing cars. Welcome to Urban's world. Bernard Hare was on society's margins, living on one of Leeds' roughest estates and with a liking for drink and drugs. So he knew what life in the underclass was like in '90s Britain. But even he was shocked when he met Urban, an illiterate, glue-sniffing twelve-year-old. And through Urban he got to know the Shed Crew - an anarchic gang of kids between the ages of ten and fourteen; joy-riding, thieving runaways, who were no strangers to drugs or sex. Nearly all had been in care, but few adults really cared. Bernard decided to do what he could. He didn't know what he was letting himself in for.

'Seductive, atmospheric, intriguing, Green Darkness is one of those classic novels you come back to time and again' (Kate Mosse) The hugely popular historical novel from the author of Katherine.England, 1552. Protestant king Edward VI has been on the throne for five years. Almost two decades after Henry VIII's brutal reformation of the monasteries, Catholics in England still live in fear. When 13-year-old Celia da Bohun first meets Stephen Marsdon, a young Catholic priest, she falls hopelessly in love. Against his will, Stephen returns her affection. As the years pass, their childish adoration deepens into a passionate love that will not be extinguished - not even by Celia's violent death.Centuries later, history seems poised to repeat itself. Celia, the young, rich wife of Richard Marsden, finds her marriage and happiness threatened by the tragedies of the past. Celia can only be saved by piercing the green darkness of the past and revealing its mysterious truth.

This book is about the beginning of Sir Alex's football career, until the year 2000.1999 was an outstanding year for Alex Ferguson - not only did he lead Manchester United, the most glamorous club in the world, to a unique and outstanding treble triumph, but he was awarded the highest honour for his sporting achievements; a Knighthood from the Queen. Universally respected for his tough, but caring managerial style, Ferguson is an unusually intelligent man with a fascinating life story. Covering his tough Govan upbringing through to his playing days and onto his shift into management, Managing My Life is told with the fine balance of biting controversy and human sensitivity which made it such an unprecedented success in hardback. Alex Ferguson is a legend in his lifetime.

They took the job to escape the worldThey didn't expect the world to end.Kasker Rampart: a derelict refinery platform moored in the Arctic Ocean. A skeleton crew of fifteen fight boredom and despair as they wait for a relief ship to take them home. But the world beyond their frozen wasteland has gone to hell. Cities lie ravaged by a global pandemic. One by one TV channels die, replaced by silent wavebands. The Rampart crew are marooned. They must survive the long Arctic winter, then make their way home alone. They battle starvation and hypothermia, unaware that the deadly contagion that has devastated the world is heading their way...

Mike Pannett, once of the Metropolitan Police, is back in Yorkshire, policing one of the largest rural beats in England. Mike is called to investigate a series of burglaries, which are sending shock waves through the area. Remote farmhouses appear to be the targets, which stretches Mike's small team to the limits. Then, as winter sets in, two dogs are found running loose - Mike fears the owner has gone missing in the dreadful weather and is forced to call on a full-scale search. Throw in a night-time operation in an empty museum, and the harrowing business of taking three children into care against their mother's wishes, and it's quite a case-load for the author of Now Then, Lad, You're Coming With Me, Lad, Not On My Patch, Lad and Just the Job, Lad.For fans of Gervase Phinn and James Herriot.

After ten years with the Metropolitan Police, Mike Pannett has returned to his North Yorkshire roots. Working a rural beat in God's Own Country he finds that life and crime in the countryside continue to throw up fresh challenges. When a drug dealer targets the towns and villages of Ryedale, Mike launches an investigation that will uncover nationwide connections. News of a proposed ban on hunting with dogs raises hackles amongst his friends and contacts, threatening to put him in the firing line. And, as he starts working towards his sergeant's exams, there's trouble on the home front. The roof at Keeper's Cottage springs a leak during a thunderstorm - and they have to share their love-nest with the builder. But none of this matches the drama of the anti-hunt demo which threatens to stop a train bringing a local MP to town. With horseman racing alongside the steam engine, and a protester lying on the tracks, Mike has to call on all his resources to handle an inflammatory situation with the media looking on.For fans of Gervase Phinn and James Herriot.

This is Roger Lewis at his best: more cantankerous and curmudgeonly wit and musings about the pointlessness of life. Dark, witty and hilarious, Roger Lewis has a real way with words.

The Stag and Hen Weekend is the story of Phil and Helen, a couple in their thirties about to commit their lives to one another . . . that is of course if they can just manage to get through their respective stag and hen weekends (his: Amsterdam; hers: a country house and day spa in the Peak District) without falling apart. Told in the unique form of two separate stories that have common characters as well as themes and conclusion, The Stag and Hen Weekend can be read from front to back or from back to front putting the reader in the driver's seat as to which story they wish to read first. Feisty, fun and thought provoking.

'A corker ... A warm, witty read.' CloserJoe Clarke is about 78% sure he's just had an affair. Well, that is the beautiful office intern in bed next to him...But, if Joe really has just cheated, why can't he remember anything about it? Confused but mortified Joe vows to be a better husband and father. Until his wife Penny puts two and two together and leaves him.Devastated, Joe will do anything to win his family back. But when he realises that the key to saving his marriage lies in the hands of the mean-spirited ghost of his least favourite ex-girlfriend, Joe knows he's in real trouble. SEEING OTHER PEOPLE is a hilarious and bittersweet novel about love, parenthood and fidelity and how easy it is to get lost on the way to your own happy ending.From My Legendary Girlfriend to Turning Forty, Mike Gayle's bestselling novels have taken his millions of readers through many key times for the modern man - friendship, courtship, stag weekends, marriage, work, holidays, significant birthdays - but SEEING OTHER PEOPLE is perhaps his most heart-warming, heart-stopping, heartbreaking novel yet.

Havana in the 1850s is a city as dangerous as it is exotic. The murder of a humble night watchman at the British Consulate seems to worry neither the Consul nor the police.But one person cared for the old man. The enigmatic courtesan Leonarda will not rest until she understands the mystery of his death. In wintry England, George Backhouse is plucked from obscurity in the Foreign Office and given an unexpected promotion. His task: to travel to Cuba and take a stand against the illegal slave trade still flourishing there.But Havana is a tinderbox of intrigue. As the great powers of the region conspire against each other with increasing ruthlessness for control of the island, Backhouse comes to see that the most innocent of actions could spark a devastating war. To protect their interests, the powers-that-be in Whitehall are prepared to turn a blind eye to many things. Leonarda will not.But what of George Backhouse?

The brilliantly chilling seventh crime thriller from the queen of psychological suspense - a must-read for fans of Clare Mackintosh and Paula Hawkins.'Utterly chilling' Observer'Truly hair-raising' Independent on Sunday Some secrets are so dark you keep them even from yourself . . .When Amber Hewerdine consults a hypnotherapist as a desperate last resort, she doesn't expect that anything much will change.She doesn't expect it to help with her chronic insomnia . . .She doesn't expect to hear herself, under hypnosis, saying words that mean nothing to her: 'Kind, cruel, kind of cruel' - words she has seen somewhere before, if only she could remember where . . .She doesn't expect to be arrested two hours later, as a result of having spoken those words out loud, in connection with the brutal murder of Katharine Allen, a woman she's never heard of . . .

The eighth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Kidnapping is one of the cruellest crimes - lives are put at risk for cold, hard cash. But when Somali pirates seize the crew of a yacht off the coast of Africa, they bite off more than they can chew.One of the hostages has friends in high places and Spider Shepherd is put on the case. He goes deep undercover in an audacious plan to bring an end to the pirate gang's reign of terror.But as Shepherd closes in on his quarry he realises that there's much more at stake than the lives of the hostages and that the pirates are involved in a terrorist plot that will strike at the heart of London.

A dream house in Tuscany . . . and a dog named Todo.Todo had been waiting at Poggiolino since his mistress died over two years before. The house lay empty and neglected and yet he wouldn't leave. He seemed to know that someday the right people would come along and make it a home again.Louise and Lawrence weren't thinking of buying the very first house they looked at in Tuscany. In fact, their plans to move from London were barely formed . . . but there was something enchanting about the dog waiting at the gates. If they were honest, they wanted Todo - the scruffy dog with the huge grin - as much as they wanted the house. With Todo as their faithful companion they began to restore Poggiolino to life, unlocking her secrets and giving Todo, their beloved dog, a second chance.A heart-warming memoir of moving country, making a new life and coming home.

Quelle horreur! The venerable Auberge des Deux Vall es has fallen into the hands of an English couple and that spells the end of gastronomic civilisation for the small commune of Fogas in the French Pyrenees.The mayor is particularly incensed: he had intended his brother-in-law to take over. He determines to eject les rosbifs by any means possible, and before they have the chance to serve their first pastis, Paul and Lorna are up to their eyes in French bureaucracy.But the mayor hasn't reckoned on the locals. They have their own reasons for wanting l'Auberge to succeed and they take the young incomers to their hearts. If they pull together, can they outwit the mayor or will l'Auberge end up in the merde?