Summary

A train traveling gently through the rolling hills of the Italian countryside explodes. In one carriage there are four survivors: "The General" an elderly English gentleman Werner a young German aimee an orphaned eight-year old girl and emily Delahunty an English novelist who invites them to her home to recuperate. Thrown together by misfortune they find themselves attempting to rework the torn fabric of their lives while a concerned police inspector attempts to piece together the events that brought them there. When aimee''s straightlaced American uncle arrives to take her away it shakes an already delicate household to the core. Will the magic of emily''s house in Umbria bring happiness to all? or will happiness prove as elusive as the answers to the quesitons that bind them together?