The story of Laura Lanza, the Baroness of Carini, lies somewhere between legend and historical fact. Other than the dates of her birth in Sicily, her forced marriage at the age of fourteen, her death in Carini Castle, and her eight children – six of whom were born out of wedlock – there is no documented proof of her existence.

Laura is remembered as a tragic heroine and a symbol of female oppression, rather than a culpable adulteress. Her story, rooted in a 1563 “honour killing,” has transitioned from a scandalous historical event into Sicilian folklore, and a contemporary symbol of gender-based violence.

Today she is viewed as a woman who pursued her right to love and happiness in defiance of a stifling feudal system that forced her into an arranged marriage. Bound to a man she detested, even though she deeply loved another, her tragedy is immortalised in a popular Sicilian folk ballad with hundreds of variations. This novel tells what could have been her story.