Philippe Duval

To the world beyond, Philippe Duval, eminent surgeon, husband to Julia, father to Pippa, appears to have a settled life other men would envy. What could possibly upend it? Could it be his lingering interest in a beautiful woman who should now be out of bounds? A woman he turned his back on to marry his long lost love, Julia Belleville. Or could it be what emerges unexpectedly from his early life? Brought up in poverty by his single mother among America's wealthy elite on Long Island, he has always seen himself as an outsider. Not belonging. Never welcome. Shamed of his illegitimacy. Rescued only by his own determination to succeed. Or so he thinks. As father and daughter head to New York, their plans appear straightforward. She will work a short internship at a Manhattan hospital while he attends medical conferences. But he does not know Pippa is desperate to flesh out the details of his early life of which he has told her very little. Yet even as she begins to delve into his early life, events overtake her. And they overtake her father too who is left to wonder if an unseen hand had guided his life in ways he never understood. As events unfold over which he has no control, Philippe's life takes a dramatic new direction. And with that new direction comes new possibilities and temptations that will rock the foundations of his life, including his marriage. His life will never be the same again.

To the world beyond, Philippe Duval, former eminent surgeon, husband to Julia, father to Pippa, has a life other men envy. Wealth beyond anyone's imagining. A life of leisure. A lovely wife. A delightful young daughter. A mansion on New York's Long Island. A luxurious home commanding views of Sydney Harbour. He has embraced his new life of wealth and privilege, unexpectedly bequeathed by the father he never knew. But has this new life changed him in ways he hadn't expected? Is the lure of a beautiful woman who should be out of bounds too much for him to resist? A decade earlier, he had turned his back on Karen Clarke to marry his long lost love Julia Belleville, the mother of his daughter Pippa. But now he is less cautious. Karen makes one final attempt to capture the heart of the man she has loved for so long. And this time she is determined not to fail. She will do whatever it takes to become his wife. Against this backdrop of personal turmoil, another woman reaches out to befriend him. Returning to America without his wife, Philippe hires Arabella Courtenay to head up the charitable foundation he has established. Escaping a controlling marriage, Arabella is touched by his kindness and consideration. And very soon, she too is falling under his spell. Will Philippe complicate his life even further? As he reflects on his life, he knows he will pay a price for his behaviour. For the way he has betrayed the love of his life ... and even knowing this, there is no way back.