Ferenc Mate, a Tuscan resident for twenty years, explores this idyllic existence. He finds Tuscans brimming with creative practicality, down-home humor, and relentless optimism. Blended with their passion for work and independence, they have achieved a haven of economic stability, physical and emotional security, and a fortifying sense of belonging From their organic gardens to their mouthwatering cuisine, from high-quality, craftsmen-made products and family-run businesses to the joys centered in human contact, Tuscans live a healthy, emotionally rich life. Mate engaging, funny, and...

It's 1921 Mexico. Ne'er-do-well sea captain Dugger and his sardonic friend Nello break out of jail and set sail for a new beginning in Tahiti. Aboard are two mysterious passengers: a beautiful escapee from an Irish convent, searching for her twin brother; and a French master spy, hunting the leader of an anticolonial rebellion. But both are searching for more than they admit to-both have enormous secrets of the heart. After a hurricane-battered sea voyage, Gauguin's beguiling Tahitian daughter pilots them through a mountainous jungle of recent infanticide and cannibalism. Aiding the rebels,...