The Concubine's Secret: 'Wonderful . . . hugely ambitious and atmospheric' Kate Mosse (Russian Concubine) - Tapa blanda

China, 1929. For years Lydia Ivanova believed her father was killed by the Bolsheviks. But when she learns he is captive in Stalin-controlled Russia, the fiery-haired girl is willing to leave everything behind - even her Chinese lover, Chang An Lo.

Journeying with her half-brother Alexei, Lydia begins a dangerous search. Tension grows between the two, for while Alexei is searching for his past, Lydia is looking for her future. Will that future include Chang An Lo? And will her father want this intrusion from the past? But when Alexei disappears, Lydia is left almost penniless in Soviet Russia - and doubting the choices she has made. Surrounded by dangers, she searches for information and soon finds herself entangled with a Russian officer.

But Chang An Lo has not forgotten Lydia. He knows things about her father that she does not. And while he races to protect her, she is prepared to risk treacherous consequences to discover the truth . . .

Kate Furnivall was born in Wales and studied English at London University. She worked in publishing and then moved to TV advertising, where she met her husband.

In 2000, Kate decided to write her mother's extraordinary story of growing up in Russia, China and India, and this became The Russian Concubine, which was a New York Times bestseller. All her books since then have had an exotic setting and Kate has travelled widely for her research. She now has two sons and lives with her husband in a cottage by the sea in Devon.

Visit Kate's website at www.katefurnivall.com