THE PAST CASTS A LONG SHADOW. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT POINTS TO A WOMAN'S FIRST LOVE.

Her name was Mary Grace until she fell in love with the French exchange student visiting her family's Nebraska farm. Francois renamed her Aglaia after one of the beautiful Three Graces of Greek mythology, and set the seventeen-year-old girl longing for something more than her parent's simplistic life and faith.

Now, fifteen years later, Aglaia works as a costume designer in Denver. Her budding success in the city's posh arts scene convinces her that she's left the naive farm girl far behind.

But "Mary Grace" has deep roots, as Aglaia learns during a business trip to Paris. Her discovery of sensual notes that Franois jotted into a Bible during that long-ago fling, a silly errand imposed by her mother, and the scheming of her sophisticated mentor all conspire to create a thirst in her soul that professional success can't quench.

The Third Grace takes you on a dual journey across oceans and timein the footsteps of a woman torn between her rural upbringing and her search for self.

"Very rarely do I get to the end of a book and want to turn right around and read it all over again, but this happened with The Third Grace. Its a novel on the order of Peace Like a River or Secret Life of Bees." — Linda Hall, novelist.

"Elkink expertly weaves threads of mythology and troubled faith into a finely textured and compelling story of self-discovery. An incredible debut novel." — Janice L. Dick, novelist, editor, speaker.

"Aglaia's journey takes her through the labyrinth of Greek mythology and to the heights of Parisian costume design. But in the end, her journey of self-discovery to arrive at true peace is the greater distance travelled. Beautifully written." — Donna Fletcher Crow, novelist.