The Butler

Description

Joachim von Hartmann is born into a wealthy Argentine banking family and spends his early years in Buenos Aires. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed, he has inherited the looks of his German ancestors, while his twin brother Javier could not be more different. Following the death of their father, and when details emerge about Joachim's maternal grandfather's wartime activity, both boys and their mother, Liese, are cast out from the family. After the years of glamour and luxury, she must raise them alone with no financial support. Eventually Liese meets and falls in love with a French art expert, and she and Joachim move to Paris without Javier, who refuses to leave his beloved Argentina. Rumours soon start to circulate that he's involved in the drugs trade. Following a whim, Joachim moves to England to train as a butler but on the death of his last employer, Joachim decides to move back to France to spend some time with his mother. He finds a job putting his skills to good use acting as assistant and confidant to Olivia, an American who needed to escape her life in New York. Both Joachim and Olivia hold secrets about their past, and as reports come through that Javier's life in the Columbian underworld is spiralling out of control, they must, as brave and honourable people, make some difficult decisions.

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with a billion copies of her novels sold worldwide. Her recent many international bestsellers include Dangerous Games, Against All Odds and The Duchess. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; and the children's books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood. Danielle divides her time between Paris and her home in northern California.