The Wedding Officer

IN THE SENSUAL TRADITION OF CHOCOLAT AND CAPTAIN CORELLIS MANDOLIN COMES A RICH, JUICY, AND UTTERLY MAGICAL TALE OF PASSION, CULINARY DELIGHT -- AND ITALY.

It's 1944, and Captain James Gould arrives in Naples, assigned to discourage marriages between British soldiers and their gorgeous Italian girlfriends. And the innocent young officer may succeed -- if he isn't distracted by an intoxicating young widow who knows her way around a kitchen....

Livia Pertini, the Allied officers' new chef, is creating feasts that stun the senses with their succulence -- ruby-colored San Marzana tomatoes, glistening anchovies, and delectable new potatoes encrusted with the black volcanic earth of Campania. Irresistibly seduced by Livia's fiery personality, not to mention her mouth-watering dishes, James is about to learn that one's heart does not always follow orders and that even in wartime the spicy passions of food and love can be as joyful and exciting as the banquet of life itself.