The Novel

Decorum follows the fortunes of Francesca Lund, a wealthy socialite, bereft of family and on her own in the world, and the Irish-born, self-made millionaire Connor O’Casey who is determined to win her.  Francesca’s goal is to heal—to recover from the grief of her family’s death and pick up her life in society again.  Connor’s goal is to fulfill his image of the wealthy man with a family, a respectable name, and a luxury hotel business in the heart of New York—in short, a legacy.  But cloying family friends, a sophisticated and demanding mistress with a past, the shady wife of an impresario, a fiancé-cum-gigolo with something to hide, and the thinly veiled disapproval of New York society threaten to derail Connor’s hopes and Francesca’s emerging self-reliance.

Connor and Francesca meet, sparks fly over lavish opera parties and Central Park encounters, hotel plans are laid, art deals are made. Deception, anger, and thwarted hopes lead to murder, and a private investigator uncovers dark secrets buried in a Louisiana graveyard. Amid the chaos of and publicity of a murder trial, Francesca escapes the scrutiny of New York for what she hopes will be the peace and solitude of the Banff Springs Hotel after she agrees to Connor’s novel proposition that challenges the conventions of the time. Her solitude is short-lived, however, when events in Banff conspire to force Francesca to confront her fears and find the confidence and strength to make choices with the potential to bring her happiness and fulfilment.