Coca-Cola, Levi’s jeans, Life magazines, youth and jazz... The quiet town on the Loire had barely recovered from the Germans when the Americans arrived. In the mid-20th century, NATO bases appeared in France, posing a serious challenge to two young hearts. Will they be able to hold on to each other amidst the glittering wrappers and overseas rhythms? Pascal Quignard (1948), one of the greatest contemporary French writers and winner of the Goncourt Prize, has crafted a poignant and poetic tale of the strength and fragility of love.