Bruce Flynn has long been overwhelmed by his unruly and alarming fear of death. His wife, Pilar, distracts him by telling him drawn-out and convoluted stories, hiding him behind so many twists and turns that even Death itself will not be able to find him. During one such story, while the couple is on holiday in Macon, France, Bruce becomes entirely engrossed in the tabletop as he listens to Pilar. When he looks up, she’s gone . Bruce looks for her, waits for her, interrogates the waiter, but she’s nowhere to be found. Her bags, her clothes, and her toiletries are all gone. Bruce asks himself if this could be an elaborate prank – it’s the kind of trick Pilar loves – and he begins to see clues in the story she told. The next morning Bruce sets out on a journey to follow these clues and to find Pilar.

Saudade is the sixth novel from award-winning writer Thomas Trofimuk. It is a sweeping literary thriller, moving across Europe and North America, from France to Italy, to Palm Springs, and Lake Louise, showing a world on the cusp of a global pandemic. It is a love story, a story of stories, of loss, and of discovery.