Lamplight over the Lake — Margaret Wood

When Elizabeth, and interior designer, is asked to go to Italy by a wealthy American, to supervise the renovation of a villa for her, she welcomes the chance to escape from and unhappy love affair. But it seems she is fated to fall in love with the wrong type of man, for on the beautiful shores of Lake Como she is strongly attracted to Michele, the Italian gardener-artist, who regards the villa as his own,

Who tried to kill the owner of the villa? What is the relationship between Michele and the little boy Gianni, whose mother is a glamorous film actress? What has happened to the missing masterpiece?

Not until she has discovered the answers to these and other questions does Elizabeth learn to trust her own heart.