When her sister volunteers to help renovate the two cottages she owns in France, Merle is happy to have company. The cottages are a disaster– especially one that has mostly been inhabited by rodents for years. But inside the cottage are surprises. A packet of letters dating from World War One intrigue Merle. What happened to this soldier who was writing to his girlfriend back in England? Does his last letter, telling her to forget him, mean something terrible happened to him?

As she digs deeper into the past Merle enlists another sister, Annie, to meet her in southern England. Here on the so-called English Riviera was where both lovers once lived. Could their fates be discovered there?

The mystery of Birdie and Felix unwinds as Merle gets closer to the awful truth of what happened. Read Felix's letters, especially the last one, along with the Bennett Sisters in this latest mystery, number 20 in the series.