Jean Perdu owns a book barge in Paris. He is 20 years into grieving his lost love. She gave him a letter but he never opened it. Finally he does and she left him because she was dying of cancer. He unhooks his barge and travels south with Max Jordan, a young author with writer’s block, and 2 cats. They meet Salvatore Cuneo, also looking for a lost love, and who eventually meets the love of his life – an author – and Jean gives them the boat and travels on by car to Sanary de Ser or something like that where he swims, gets tanned and in shape and discovers he loves Catherine and they live happily ever after. Book Club book – no one liked it except Mom and 2 others. Mom fell in love with lavender after reading this book and makes lavender snickerdoodle cookies, drinks lavender tea, and wants to see fields of lavender in bloom.