Two powerful 19th-century English and Prussian families are still riven by the consequences of an ancestral marriage - one that bequeathed venomous division, rivalry and hatred. Three beautiful women - each ambitious and musically gifted - seek to break these inherited shackles of betrayal, revenge and cruelty in their pursuit of sexual freedom and love. But the past proves a formidable and vicious opponent. Set against the backdrop of Europe's inexorable slide towards the First World War, the final resolution of this ancient and destructive quarrel hangs by a thread and with it the fate of an 18th-century music book full of secrets. The last volume in the thrilling Herzberg trilogy, A Motif of Seasons finally solves the intriguing mystery at the heart of the series - in a definitive and surprising way.