chagrin

"Margaret Murphy is a weaver of fantastic tales, growing up in a world where the truth is too much for one little girl to endure. Her first memory is of the day her friend Agnes died. No one blames Margaret. Not in so many words. Her mother insists to everyone who will listen that her daughter never even left the house that day. Left alone to make sense of tragedy, Margaret wills herself to forget these unbearable memories, replacing them with imagined stories full of faith and magic--that always end happily. Enter Poor Deer: a strange and formidable creature who winds her way uninvited into Margaret's made-up tales. Poor Deer will not rest until Margaret faces the truth about her past and atones for her role in Agnes's death." --.

Julia Rimini has got a great job as a psychologist and when she met her fiance Marc seven years ago, she knew he was The One. But when Julia's father dies suddenly, her whole world begins to unravel. Marc turns distant and cold, leaving Julia to navigate her grief alone. Then she loses her grandmother, her beloved 'Maminou', too. Sleeping on her best friend's sofa and leafing through endless self-help books, Julia's not exactly where she hoped she'd be at thirty-two. Something has to give. She has to get out of Paris - and fast. Then, a lifeline. Julia accepts a job in a retirement home in Biarritz - her home town. She'll tell no one she's there, not even her mother or sister, despite them now being just round the corner. It's the best establishment in the area, boasting ocean views, sun-drenched days and Basque country living. It will be her refuge. Except Julia isn't the biggest fan of old people. Little does Julia know that this place is home to far more than just stooped backs, pureed vegetables and incontinence pants. Behind its double doors lie broken hearts, lifelong secrets, a budding romance or two and an unflinching zest for life. And Raphael, the grandson of the newest resident, isn't looking all bad, either ...