{"product_id":"the-invitation","title":"The Invitation","description":"An evocative love story set along the Italian Riviera about a group of charismatic stars who all have secrets and pasts they try desperately -- and dangerously -- to hide.  Rome  1953: Hal  an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness  has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo  walking into a world of privilege and light. Here  on a rooftop above the city  he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds  but their connection is magnetic. Together  they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life  even if its just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly  and Hal is certain their paths wont cross again.  But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together  after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht  skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival  the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film.  Of all the luminaries aboard -- an Italian ingnue  an American star  a reclusive director -- only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface  Stella has the most to hide. As Hals obsession with Stella grows  he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was  the girl whos been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the worlds most glamorous locales  The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us -- no matter how much we try to escape them.","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44894893801525,"sku":"ByrdShop_0316273473","price":30.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/ByrdShop_0316273473_d5cf4ba5-bcc6-40f9-8537-755de874c22a.jpg?v=1770156411","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-invitation","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}