Compass Error by Sybille Bedford

As the Second World War looms, Flavia is living in a small village in the South of France, studying for her Oxford entrance, swimming in the sea, and living with the confidence and relish of youth. In this a dramatic companion novel to A Favourite of the Gods, Flavia’s world is overturned when she becomes fascinated by Andrée – beautiful, sophisticated, yet manipulative – and is caught up in a devastating intrigue.