A parcel. A secret. The adventure of a lifetime. Out one night with friends, Maria Pearce bears witness to something that sparks off a series of events that quickly unravels the life she thought she knew. Angering her father, he takes the one thing she holds closest to her heart: her beloved horse, Indah. Heartbroken, Maria sinks deep in misery, only surfacing twelve months later. When her desperate attempts to locate Indah are fruitless, she swallows her pain and tries to move on. After her parents divorce, her mother lands a dream job, takes the opportunity to go to Venice for twelve months... and goes missing. Then the strangest parcel arrives, containing four curious items: a beautiful silver dress, a pile of letters and a note. But it was the last one that caught Maria's eye: a list setting out a precise, all-expenses-paid trip for her and a friend to Venice, Paris and Palau. It seemed impossible, inconceivable, unbelievable, too good to be true. But when everything is proven to be genuine, the chance to search for her mother would be impossible to pass up. What neither of the girls realise is that in agreeing to go, they will discover that secrets lurking deep in their mothers' pasts are about to surface- and change their lives forever.