A Window to the Sun tells the story of "emerald-eyed" Arizle, a Brazilian girl born with nothing but the heart, mind, ambition and courage to risk what little she possessed in order to gain all that she thought she wanted, only to find that, ultimately, she had almost everything she needed... everything except time.

Novelist Lisa Whatley takes you from Arizle's humble beginnings in the Brazilian countryside, to a forced marriage at the age of fourteen to a saintly, father figure she could never love as a husband but who sacrificed everything for her. From a life of obedient love devoid of passion, Arizle attends the magnificent Carnival balls of Rio de Janeiro and encounters the dashing stranger with whom she cannot help but fall in love... but at a price that cannot be paid within one's lifetime. She can neither escape the pain of an older, brilliant son she cherishes but who reviles and condemns her in return, nor the unforgiving ostracism of a society that judges the happiness that she seeks to be forbidden.

But with the tenderness of the lover she always wanted, the caring of a father she never had, and the devotion of a younger, faithful son who never leaves her side, Arizle's life carries her from adventures at the Casa Rosada with Evita Perón, to the wonders of the capitals of Europe, to the exploration of hope in the face of impending tragedy in New York City, and the heartbreak, pain and ecstatic joy she embraces at the end of her struggle with the unseen killer within her during her final return to the Brazilian poverty from which she originally emerged.

A Window to the Sun is a mesmerizing journey through both the various landscapes of Brazil in an age gone by and the timeless, conflicting regions of the human heart that Arizle struggles to reconcile. To the four men who loved Arizle, she was a devil, a sinner, a saint, a martyr, an angel, a wife, a mistress, a mother, a friend... an extraordinary woman. Her grandmother once told her: "Follow your heart, not necessarily to find the road to happiness, but to discover the path to knowledge and meaning." This is the emotionally resonant map of Arizle's heart and her intensely passionate, challenging path that winds its way to that discovery. This is her unforgettable story... and ours.

Excerpt

She felt numb. She could not hear any sound, and his tongue was moving inside of her mouth like a fire swirl. She thought of pushing him away from her, but she could not do it. They kissed passionately during the whole movie, and he could not let go of her.

Those kisses were like firebombs hitting her heart. She could not breathe, she could not talk; she just felt the heat of his long, wet kisses. The movie ended and they both had no idea what they had seen. They were almost anonymous in the back row, and fortunately at that time of the day, few people had gone to the movies.

As they walked out in silence, she immediately put on her dark glasses. She kept looking in the shop windows as they went by, to see if her lipstick had smeared, but she could not see anything. She told him that it was nearly six o'clock, and that she had to go home and prepare dinner for her father. He asked her to stay, but she sadly replied that she really could not. He asked her when he would see her again. She replied that her godson needed her help with homework, and that her father was very strict and did not like her to date. All her excuses served to add some mystery and intrigue to their relationship. He was in love with her. His eyes told her that every minute. She was desperately in love with him. She wanted what she felt to be desire, to be only desire, but it was more than that: they were totally in love with each other.