
The sun sinks behind a heavy bank of clouds over the wind‑torn cliffs of Corsica, casting a golden glow on the stone houses of Olmeta‑di‑Tuda. In the village square, a man lies dead, his pistol still clutched in his hand, a thin ribbon of blood staining the cobbles. The narrow streets are hushed, the locals watching with indifferent eyes, their pipes curling smoke as the mistral whistles through the chestnut trees. The atmosphere is thick with the scent of olives and the weight of unspoken codes, hinting at a world where honor and silence hold more power than law.
A quiet investigation begins as the gendarmes from St. Florent are summoned and the village’s hidden stories start to surface. Among the wary witnesses, a young woman named Lucasta, torn between the call of war and the pull of her convent upbringing, finds herself drawn into the mystery. As she navigates the tangled loyalties of her community, the first act sets a tone of brooding intrigue, promising deeper secrets to uncover.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (411K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Text file produced by Distributed Proofreaders HTML file produced by David Widger
Release date
2005-09-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1862–1903
Known for brisk adventure stories and popular late-Victorian novels, this English writer published under the name Henry Seton Merriman and found a wide readership with books like The Sowers. His fiction often blends romance, politics, and travel with a fast-moving, old-world storytelling style.
View all books