One day, in 2010, Clémence James, a quiet, lonely pianist, receives a mysterious package. It contains 502 of her mother’s drawings. Drawings made during her hospital stay in a Norman convent after a serious car accident. The discovery shocks Clémence: her mother was declared dead just after the tragic event in 1989. These sketches prove she was alive until 1999. Unaware of her mother’s existence during those ten long years, she was unable to visit her or say goodbye. 10 years of lies…
Clémence’s mother Julia was a writer. Just before her accident, she took refuge in a small house in Normandy to finish her manuscript, The Great Art of Small Scams. In her fascinating writings, Julia dove deep into the history of impostors, liars, and other deceivers. But these notes will remain a draft forever. Julia’s former editor Marius has turned his back on books and now focuses on culinary arts.
Clémence has so many questions. Why did someone fake Julia’s death? Was it her husband, who wanted to get divorced and quickly marry another woman? Or was it her publisher, who was paying an astronomical advance each month for a book that would never be released? Was the car crash really even an accident? The truth may very well be hiding in the home where Julia lived before her accident. Behind this house, Clémence will unravel a scam that might just have cost her mother her life. Twenty years later, she digs into the past.