Bernard Bourque

An uplifting story of resilience, love and rebirth. Living on Campobello Island, New Brunswick (Canada), Louis Pembroke is a scrawny and diffident twenty-three-year-old who believes that he is the reincarnation of Louis Howe, the diminutive, chain-smoking political advisor who became FDR’s secretary (chief of staff). Growing up, Louis Pembroke is psychologically and physically abused by his mother and, after her death, by an old aunt. At the Campobello Roosevelt International Park where he mows lawns, Louis has a chance encounter with eighty-five-year-old Richard Chresterton, an Englishman born in India who is rebuilding the Tyn-y-Coed, a luxurious hotel that once existed during the glory days of Campobello’s resort era. Louis is given a job at the new establishment and develops a close connection with the owner. Accompanying Mr. Chresterton on a trip to India as his aide, Louis meets Aaradhya in the slums of Dharavi. The complicated love they share and the trials they face lead to a process of renewal for Louis who must meet other challenges when he returns to Campobello.