Penny Nichols is a historical researcher working on a big-budget film in the south of France when she gets an urgent call. Her aunt Penelope has just died, and Penny's presence is required in London for the reading of the will. With only a slim recollection of her eccentric aunt, Penny is astonished to learn that not only is she the bona fide heiress--but she's also been invited to put her research skills to work. This time, the history she's researching happens to be her very own. What she discovers about Aunt Penelope, a pair of wills, double lives, secret histories, and a family tree of 'vultures' is about to sweep Penny and a long-lost relative across France, over the hills of Italy, and through half of Europe on the adventure of several lifetimes. This is her life, her past, her chance at love-and Penny's going to live with the kind of passion she's always dreamed of...