Extra Virgin

In 1983, a pale Annie Hawes and her equally pale sister leave England for the sun-drenched olive groves of a small Italian town in Liguria. With fantasies of handsome men and swimming in the sea urging them on, they sign up to graft roses -- something they know nothing about -- but they figure they can fake it for ten weeks. What they don't count on is falling in love with Italy--and with one old farmhouse in particular.

Although they quickly realize that rugged Liguria is not gentle Tuscany, they cannot resist the charming little town. Annie, who has never wanted to settle down anywhere, doesn't want to leave. How will she find a way to make this old derelict farmhouse her own? What will the Ligurians think about their new neighbor with her strange ways staying on for good?

For everyone who has ever wondered what happens when you fall in love with a certain house, on a certain hill, near a certain village -- Extra Virgin limns Annie Hawes' joyful romance with the enchantingly beautiful Italian Riviera.

Annie quickly finds that though they are only two miles from the Italian Riviera, it might as well be a hundred. Liguria is an old town full of time-honored peculiarities, especially in regard to espresso consumption (never, ever, after lunch; it will close your stomach) and swimming before summertime officially starts. "Seawater at the wrong time of year is even worse for your health than coffee at the wrong time of day, and the beach is only deserted because, as far as the citizens are concerned, if you put so much as a toe into the water before June you are certain to die within the week from exposure or pneumonia or both," says Hawes. Eventually, the sisters are accepted by the townsfolk, though they find the idea of the women buying the farmhouse and running it themselves (there are 50 olive trees on the land) fantastical.

Extra Virgin draws you in to the heart of Liguria and its inhabitants. Hawes has a knack for drawing characters and especially for describing the luscious meals that they are served--and eventually learn to cook. "Lucy and I are kindly allowed to make the tomato-and-basil salad," Hawes says, "and do our best not to be offended by being complemented on how like a proper tomato-and-basil salad it is." Pour yourself an espresso (as long as it's before lunch) or a grappa (aids the digestion), and then sit down to enjoy Extra Virgin. --Dana Van Nest