All the Ways We Said Goodbye

Three women's lives intertwine across half a century, connected by the Hôtel Ritz in Paris, a sacred family relic, and a mysterious Resistance fighter known as La Fleur.

In April 1964, Barbara "Babs" Langford, a 38-year-old English widow, wanders the halls of Langford Hall, her late husband Kit's ancestral home. Babs loved Kit her entire life and nursed him through recovery from a German prison camp, during which he called out "La Fleur" like a lover's name. Before their wedding, a letter arrived from La Fleur declaring undying love. Babs hid it and never told Kit. Now she finds a letter from Andrew Bowdoin, an American lawyer whose father, an agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), was supposed to receive diamonds and rubies from La Fleur during the war. La Fleur never appeared, and the elder Bowdoin was branded a traitor. His only clue: La Fleur once mentioned "the wolf with a cross." Babs retrieves Kit's copy of The Scarlet Pimpernel, stamped with the address of a Paris bookshop called Le Mouton Noir, and agrees to meet Drew at the Ritz.

The second timeline opens in September 1914 as German forces advance on Paris. Aurélie de Courcelles, the 19-year-old daughter of the Comte de Courcelles and American heiress Minnie Gold, chafes at her mother's Ritz salon. The family possesses a sacred talisman: cloth dipped in Joan of Arc's blood, set into a pendant of gold, rubies, and diamonds. Legend holds that France cannot fall while the Demoiselle de Courcelles, the hereditary female heir of the line, holds it. Aurélie secretly takes the talisman, drives her childhood friend Jean-Marie d'Aubigny to the front, and impulsively heads home to the family château in Picardy through the war zone.

The third timeline begins in May 1942 in occupied Paris. Marguerite "Daisy" Villon, granddaughter of the now-elderly Comtesse de Courcelles, walks through the city to the Ritz. Daisy grew up at the hotel after her mother, the Demoiselle de Courcelles, died of influenza; her father, Jean-Marie d'Aubigny, was killed at Verdun before she was born. She is married to Pierre Villon, a collaborationist climbing the Nazi bureaucracy, and they have two young children, Madeleine and Olivier. Grandmère reveals she is Jewish and introduces Daisy to Monsieur Legrand, a man involved in clandestine work at a bookshop. She asks Daisy to report the German officers attending Pierre's dinner parties.

In 1964, Babs arrives at the Ritz feeling out of place. She meets Precious Dubose, a long-term resident of the Ritz and stylish American who gives her a makeover, and Precious's friend Margot Lemouron, a frail, clearly ill Frenchwoman who reacts subtly to the name "Langford." At the Bar Hemingway, Babs discovers that the man who saved her from traffic on rue Volney is Drew Bowdoin himself. Despite an awkward first evening, they begin investigating La Fleur together.

At Le Mouton Noir, the bookseller's grandson Philippe recognizes The Scarlet Pimpernel as a secret communication device and recalls a man named Christophe Legrand who lived in the back room, smoked a pipe, and wore a gold ring engraved with two swans. Babs realizes Legrand was Kit under a wartime alias. Philippe also remembers a beautiful woman with two children who visited the shop. In a reference book of noble crests, they find only one matching "a white wolf with a cross": the de Courcelles family of Picardy.

In 1914, Aurélie hides the talisman in the family chapel and mobilizes village women to harvest wheat. When Germans requisition the château, she recognizes Lieutenant Maximilian von Sternburg, a cultivated man she met at her mother's salon. His commander, Major Hoffmeister, strips the village of resources. On Christmas Eve, Aurélie and Max share a kiss, but she pulls back, knowing a relationship with a German officer would be seen as betrayal. Months later, she overhears Hoffmeister plotting to murder Max and rushes to warn him. The crisis breaks their restraint: They spend the night together and agree to marry after the war. Max urges Aurélie to escape on a planned civilian evacuation, promising he will follow.

In 1942, Daisy adopts the code name La Fleur and begins forging identity papers with Legrand, who reveals his real name is Kit. Their relationship deepens into love. When Pierre hints at a project to eliminate Jews, Kit photographs lists from Pierre's safe. They forge papers for 52 families before the roundup of July 16, 1942, when over 13,000 Jews are arrested. Daisy becomes a legendary Resistance agent. Von Sternburg, now a lieutenant colonel in Paris, privately tells Daisy he was in love with her mother. By late 1942, Daisy is pregnant with Kit's child. Kit gives her his family signet ring engraved with two swans.

Drew drives Babs to the ruined Château de Courcelles, where only the chapel survives. They discover a 1915 photograph of the Demoiselle wearing the talisman, captioned "a heroine for France." They visit Pierre Villon, now disgraced after 10 years in prison, who confirms Daisy and the children vanished during the war. He admits knowing about Daisy's affair and says he "took care of that little problem." Babs and Drew become lovers, but Drew soon reveals his plane leaves that evening.

The 1914 timeline reaches its climax when Lieutenant Dreier, one of Hoffmeister's officers, catches Aurélie retrieving the talisman on the morning of her departure. In the confrontation, Dreier falls into the fireplace and the château catches fire. Max kills Hoffmeister to save Aurélie, lowers her from a window, and climbs back inside to rescue her father. Aurélie escapes with the talisman. After a five-week evacuation, she reaches Paris and learns her father is dead. Pregnant with Max's child, she accepts her mother's arrangement of a fictional marriage to the recently killed Jean-Marie.

In the final act of the 1942 timeline, Von Sternburg warns Daisy that Pierre faces arrest. He reveals he is Daisy's biological father: The Demoiselle de Courcelles conceived Daisy during their love affair in World War I. He offers to deliver the talisman to the OSS contact so Daisy can flee with her children. At the rendezvous, the Gestapo is waiting. Von Sternburg passes the talisman to Precious before the Germans shoot him. Precious sells the jewels to fund the Resistance, but the truth cannot be revealed without compromising operations, so Drew's father takes the blame. Kit is captured and sent to a prison camp. Daisy flees to Switzerland and eventually Canada, where she gives birth to Kit's daughter, Christine.

While gathering items for the hospitalized Margot, Babs finds Kit's signet ring and realizes Margot is Daisy, Kit's wartime lover. At the hospital, Babs places the ring in the dying woman's palm and apologizes for hiding La Fleur's letter. Daisy whispers, "He loved us both," and returns the ring for Kit's son Robin. Precious reveals she assumed the code name La Fleur after Daisy fled and explains Von Sternburg's sacrifice. Drew asks Babs to come to New York, but she refuses, believing she does not deserve him. Drew tells her she acted out of love, not selfishness, and leaves.

Months later, Babs deeds Langford Hall to the National Trust and prepares to move to the Dower House, a smaller residence on the estate. She gives Robin the ring and visits Kit's grave, finding peace at last. Drew appears at her door, announcing he has transferred to London. This time, Babs opens the door wide.