After a bomb destroys a railway carriage, the four survivors repair to the villa of one, Mrs Delahunty, a writer of romance novels, a woman with a past The others are an aging British general, a young German man, and Aimee, an American girl orphaned in the blast As these four strangers recover in Umbria's countryside and become friends, Aimee's uncle, a cold and childless academic who studies red carpenter ants, arrives to fetch her Mrs Delahunty fears this may not be in Aimee's best interests, begins to drink heavily, and fails in her attempts to connect with Aimee's uncle Meanwhile, a persistent detective investigates the blast Written by lt;jhailey@hotmailcomgt;
