Beneath the Paris Stars

Sophia, a young woman caught in a messy divorce from a controlling ex-husband, is at the pinnacle of her career as a TV-reporter. Yet, she yearns for a fresh start away from dull and dreary Stockholm and is certain that her dream job as foreign correspondent in Cairo is within her reach. Her bags are packed and her apartment is already rented out. Then the email arrives – the job has slipped through her fingers and into the hands of a colleague.

Amid all the work-related chaos, Sophia receives the heart-wrenching news that her beloved grandmother has been in a horrible car accident, leading to her passing. Soon, Sophia learns of a surprising inheritance – a decayed bar in the heart of Paris. Sophia’s grandmother had always been reticent about her youthful adventures with her sister Britta in Paris during the 60’s and now there is a mysterious bar – what secrets does
it hide?

Reluctantly, Sophia sets out for Paris with the intention of selling the bar. As she arrives, she discovers a run-down establishment in dire financial strait. There she also meets a diverse cast of characters whose livelihood is rooted in the bar. There is Hayley, the cynical mother of a teenage daughter; Olivier, the handsome young bartender; and Louis, the elderly bar manager who seems to hold a deeper knowledge of Sophia’s grandmother’s past than he initially lets on. Then there’s Tristan, the lawyer who Sophia schedules a meeting with to help her with selling the bar. At first Sophia finds him arrogant and rude, but perhaps there is more to Tristan than first meets the eye?

Days turn into weeks and Louis begins to tell Sophia about her grandmother’s youthful escapades in Paris. As she digs deep into the stories, she finds herself at a crossroad. She has put everything into her career, but what does she truly desire? At the same time, Sophia’s connection to her new friends at the bar grows deeper and with each passing day she becomes more drawn to the idea of saving the bar rather than selling it. Could a fresh coat of paint, some new furniture and a whole bunch of apples bring the bar back to life?

Set against the enchanting backdrop of Paris, Beneath the Paris Stars weaves a heartwarming tale of the profound experience of falling in love, both with a city and the people living there. Here, Karolina Schützer explores the transformative power of unexpected connections and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity, serving as a poignant reminder that it is in the depths of darkness that the stars shine the brightest.