Cyrano de Bergerac is in possession of a cadet position in the French Army, a poet's soul, and a very, very large nose. He is also in love with Roxane but believes himself too ugly to be loved by her in return. When the handsome but unpoetic new cadet, Christian, falls for the beautiful Roxane , he asks Cyrano to help him win her heart....
In Venice, Frances Croy is working to leave the previous year behind: another novel published to little success, a scathing review she can't quite manage to forget, and, most of all, the real reason behind her self-imposed exile from London: the incident at the Savoy. Sequestered within an aging palazzo, Frankie finds comfort in the emptiness of Venice in winter, in the absence of others. And then Gilly appears.