‘We regret to inform you that our United Kingdom data base has no record of your citizenship and on further investigation it appears your birth certificate is a fake.’

With an abundance of mystery and intrigue, Portrait of Stella tells the story of a woman searching for her true identity after she receives a shocking letter from the Home Office.

With both parents deceased she turns to her grandmother who tells of her mother Stella’s early life and her ardent wish to join the armed forces in WWII. Through an old friend she discovers that before Stella’s mysterious disappearance in 1945, she had fallen in love with a foreign soldier.

The narrative follows the daughter as she travels across the globe to a distant vineyard where she unearths her real family. Through her newly found sibling, she learns of her mother’s personal tragedy and startling revelations emerge of a cover up of a murder and a reckless change of identity.

‘Most people say they will write a book one day,’ says Susan. ‘I am no exception – but what to write? Then an idea surfaced; an image of a girl knocking on a door to find a sister she had no idea existed. The rest of the story just flowed from there.’

Portrait of Stella is a chronicle of a woman desperate to find the truth and how she learns of the ultimate sacrifice her mother made to protect her from a life of racial stigma.