Dandelion Soup — Babs Horton

1947. In the remote village of Ballygurry in western Ireland, middle-aged Solly Benjamin is roused at midnight to find a small child on his doorstep, carrying a battered suitcase, a length of cord loosely tied round her neck. On the attached name tag is written his own name and address. The child is Dancey Amati, abandoned by her mother on the Camino de Santiago, and subsequently looked after by an old pilgrim, Peregrino Viejo, who teaches Dancey the recipe for dandelion soup, favoured dish of saints and martyrs. Together, Solly and Dancey embark on an epic journey across France and into Spain, following the medieval Pilgrim Trail to Santiago de Compostela, seeking news of the mother who abandoned Darcey and the elusive Peregrino Viejo, who always seems to be one step ahead of them. As Solly painstakingly pieces together the story of this remarkable child and the reason why a complete stranger would send her to him, he is forced to look back on his own past, to confront his greatest fears and rekindle his dreams.