France, 1940: Nazi forces march towards Paris. Lili Rosenswig's wealthy and eccentric family is ensconced in their country chateau with their sumptuous collection of arts and antiques. The beloved Matisse portrait of Lili's mother has been brought from their Paris salon for safety. It is the day before young lovers Lili and Paul are to be married that they are forced to flee and their fortunes change irrevocably. Lili and her family escape but Paul must stay behind to defend his country. In their struggle to adapt to changing circumstances in an unpredictable world, all are pushed to reinvent themselves. When top Nazi Herman Goring loots their Matisse portrait, their story is intertwined with the fate of the painting. Portrait of a Woman in White is a moving family saga, an obsessive search for lost love and lost art and how far we will go to survive.

Susan Winkler is the author of four editions of The Paris Shopping Companion. A former print journalist for Fairchild Publications in New York, she studied French literature at Bennington College (BA), Stanford University (MA), L'Academie in Paris, and the University of Geneva, and has a lifelong interest in art. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her family.