ian barton stewart

When attractive lawyer Diana Mitchell meets artist Stephen Burton in front of an intriguing Vermeer painting in Vienna, they are immediately attracted to each other, and spend several magical days in that city enjoying the festivities and rich cultural life, before she returns to her troubled marriage.

Their romance blossoms into a passionate affair. Yet Diana struggles with her own demons, torn between Stephen and her husband, whose auction house is preparing to sell a newly discovered Vermeer. Stephen, too, wrestles with his own desires towards her, and contemplates how he can make her his own wife.

After a shocking discovery, her husband asserts his claim over Diana’s affections. Complications for the affair ensue, and Diana and her husband become embroiled in a legal case that captures international attention and threatens to destroy his dreams.

The novel explores the role of love and marriage, and culminates in a thrilling court case whose startling revelations alter forever the lives of the woman, her husband, and her lover.