The Vineyard

The author of The Heart Has Its Reasons and The Time in Between returns with this sweeping 19th century-set historical. The bold Mauro Larrea has worked his way up from the dire poverty of his early years in Spain by becoming a miner and eventually a mine owner in Mexico. But now he stands to lose his hard-won fortune. Circumstances bring him to a desperate gamble in a wild game of billiards in Havana, Cuba, winning him an abandoned house and vineyard back in Jerez, Spain, where the sherry trade is just starting to thrive. There Mauro meets the beautiful Soledad Montalvo, whose family previously owned the vineyard before misfortune struck. We can see where this story is going, but there are many twists and turns along the way, as well as lots of lively characters, including a few villains, and vivid scenes from Mexico City, Havana, and Jerez.