British author Joanne Harris sets the novel in the picturesque French countryside. A mysterious widow named Simon moves into an old, crumbling house and woos the distrustful villagers with delicious treats from her creperie. The treats have a recognizable flavor – reminiscent of the cooking of Mirabelle Dartingen, a woman the villagers tried to erase from their memories forever. Who is the mysterious widow Simon? Why did she come to Les Laveuses in her old age? Through a dramatic narrative, the mystery surrounding the growing up of three children in a lovely French village during World War II is slowly revealed. Sensual, sincere, painful.