American Thomas Rutter was conceived during the Battle of the Bulge and born just two days after WWII ended. A true baby boomer, he has lived in theshadow of World War II for his entire life. He first traveled to Paris atthe tender age of twenty-two, and today lives in Montalcino, Italy and MillValley, California with his wife and daughter. Paris has drawn him back to"her" many times over the years. "For the Love of Paris" is his first novel.Extended In September 1945, the war is finally over and Paris, like the phoenix, isrising from her near fatal Nazi occupation. Yet in a small café overlookingthe Boulevard St. Germain, the young woman whose courage played a pivotalrole in the city's survival is slowly dying.

With what little time remains,thirty-year-old Christine has arrived at the café to tell her story. TheAmerican writer entrusted with recording Christine's journal* *cannotcomprehend the magnitude of the tale beginning to unfold.Pre-war Paris was a magical city, a place where an independent young womancoming of age could taste a deep draught of life's richness. In 1937,Christine, the quintessential essence of a young, brilliant, beautifulFrenchwoman of the late 1930s, was finishing her studies at the Sorbonne,anxious to launch herself into adulthood. She immersed herself in a seriesof passionate love affairs and subsequent heartbreaks, learning todistinguish between lustful distraction and the connection forged by truelove. She also forged a career as a journalist, eventually marrying herformer university professor.All the while Adolf Hitler is gaining supremacy, and even Paris cannotescape his reach. Christine speaks out against the Allies' appeasement ofthe Nazis in a series of inflammatory articles, placing herself squarely onthe Nazis' radar.

Soon, her Jewish husband is arrested, and Christine,determined to stay alive and bring her husband home, is forced into adangerous liaison with a high-ranking Nazi General. To some, her betrayal appears to be unforgivable -until Hitler orders the destruction of Paris and Christine's courage and love offer the city its only hope of survival.