The Alley of Wishes Author:Laurel Johnson Beck Sanow is an innocent unworldly man who deserts the Western Front in search of sanctuary and peace. War has left him shattered, cynical, cold, and heartsick to the marrow of his bones. His misery is compounded by unfamiliar stirrings of desire for Cerise L'oiseau. She lives on an obscure Parisian side street - The Alley of Wishes. Cerise has... more » been systematically battered by another man. Beck sees her as a woman hungry for gentleness and mercy. She finds these qualities and more in Beck. Their story evolves through illness and injury, tragedy and loss, progressing from the bombed out streets of Paris to eventual peace in America.« less