From the bestselling, acclaimed author of Tully and The Bronze Horseman comes the unforgettable love story between a college-bound young woman and a traveling troubadour on his way to war—a moving, compelling novel of love lost and found set against the stunning backdrop of Eastern Europe. Chloe is just weeks away from heading off to college and starting a new life far from her home in Maine when she embarks on a great European adventure with her boyfriend and two best friends. Their destination is Barcelona, but first they must detour through the historic cities of Eastern Europe to keep an old family promise. Here, in this fledgling post-Communist world, Chloe meets a charming American vagabond named Johnny, who carries a guitar, an easy smile—and a lifetime of secrets. From Treblinka to Trieste, from Karnikava to Krakow, from Vilnius to Venice, the unlikely band of friends and lovers traverse the old world on a train trip that becomes a treacherous journey into Europe’s and Johnny’s darkest past—a journey that jeopardizes Chloe’s plans for the future and all she ever thought she wanted. But the lifelong bonds Chloe and her friends share are about to be put to the ultimate test—and whether or not they reach Barcelona, they can only be certain that their lives will never be the same again. A sweeping, beautiful tale that mesmerizes and enchants, Lone Star will linger long in the memory once the final page is turned. “[A] beautifully written first novel…. A strong story line with great characterization makes this book hard to put down.” - Library Journal Praise for Tully: “What a lovely and resonant evocation of that first great bond between women―it’s deeply moving.” - Anne Rivers Siddons “Reads fast like a sudden surge of wind over the plains, and the book’s momentum builds to tornado force.” - USA Today “A big, ambitious book whose characters stick in the reader’s mind.” - San Francisco Chronicle Praise for The Bronze Horseman: “Recalls Dr. Zhivago.” - People “A love story both tender and fierce.” - Publishers Weekly “Readers…will come to care about these characters and their plight and will take away a definite sense of what the siege of Leningrad actually meant on a personal level.” - Booklist “Extraordinary.” - Teresa Medeiros, New York Times bestselling author “A moving, compelling novel of love lost and found set against the stunning backdrop of Eastern Europe.” - Happy Ever After blog, USA Today Falling in love was the easy part . . . Chloe and her three best friends are weeks away from finishing high school and beginning their new grown-up lives apart from one another. They have been friends since they were kids, their families and lives intertwined, but this is their last summer together. They plan a magical trip to sun-drenched Barcelona, with its possibility of adventure and passion. But first, Chloe has an old family promise to keep, and the four of them must detour through historic Eastern Europe. In this fledgling post-Communist world, Chloe meets a mysterious American vagabond named Johnny, who carries a guitar, an easy smile, and a lifetime of secrets. From Treblinka to Trieste, from Carnikava to Krakow, the unlikely band of friends and mismatched lovers traverses the Old World on a train ride that becomes a treacherous journey into Europe’s and Johnny’s dark pasts—a journey that jeopardizes Chloe’s plans and all she ever thought she wanted. The ties that bind Chloe to her friends and her future are about to be put to the ultimate test. Whether or not they reach Barcelona . . . their lives will never be the same again. A sweeping, beautiful tale of old friendships and new love that mesmerizes and enchants, Lone Star will linger long in the memory even after the final page has been turned. Paullina Simons is the author of Tully and The Bronze Horseman, as well as ten other beloved novels, a memoir, a cookbook, and two children’s books. Born in Leningrad, Russia, Paullina immigrated to the United States when she was ten, and now lives in New York with her husband and an alarming number of her once-independent children.