The story revolves around a young woman, Saskia, who lives with her father and both her grandfathers in a beautiful pink cottage in an idyllic village in Suffolk, UK.
Their lives have been scarred by terrible tragedy, but their mutual care and love for each other sustains them.
Saskia is a book restorer and her father owns a bookshop specialising in rare volumes and first editions, often retrieved from the libraries of old houses being emptied or renovated.
Saskia discovers, concealed carefully in an old bible, a diary dating from World War 2.
It tells a tale of a wartime love affair between two people who worked at Bletchley Park.
As the story proceeds, moving smoothly between past and present, the defensive wall the family has built begins to crumble.
James builds a story of a loving family, showing how tight those bonds can be, and how much courage and care it takes to begin to contemplate change.
Her writing is clear and moving, and a pleasure to read.
• Margaret Bannister is a retired Dunedin psychotherapist and science teacher.
