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 meticulously packed and her apartment already rented out. But 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 father and grandmother have been in a horrible car accident, leading to her beloved grandmother’s passing. In the midst of her grief, 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 to the 6th arrondissement, she discovers a run-down establishment which is in dire financial strait. But 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 out with her mission of 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, who is slowly becoming a beloved friend of Sophia’s, finally begins to tell her about her grandmother’s youthful escapades in Paris. As she delves deeper into the stories, she finds herself at a crossroad. She has put everything into her career, but what does she truly desire and for whom is she living? At the same time, her connection with her newfound 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 traditional Swedish apples bring the bar back to life?
Set against the enchanting backdrop of Paris, where the scents of baguettes, freshly baked apple tarts and the faint waft of Gauloises lingers in the air, 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. With a razor-sharp pen, 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.
