Photos in the Attic is a compelling romance that follows the heart-wrenching story of a soldier caught between the love of two women. The tale is brought to life with the discovery in France of the Thuillier photos from WW1 taken in Vignacourt. These images hold answers to some questions raised by a current day character VALERIE BERNARD, a village local.
We go back in time and meet ROSIE MARCHAND leaving her hometown of Albert on the Somme. A survivor of the war, she finds shelter in the home of her cousin, photographer LOUIS THUILLIER, a shell-shocked veteran of Verdun who with his wife ANTOINETTE takes pictures of soldiers behind the lines.
For Australian BILL FOSTER the war is a far away adventure where he is driven to go and join his brother who is already there. He is in love with ISABELLA DE LUCA, a passionate Queensland woman. MICK DE LUCA, cane farmer and Isabella’s father fights with Bill constantly for Isabella’s attention. JIMMY WALTON, Bill’s indigenous mate, enlists in the army also and they both go off to war together.
In the Vignacourt hospital an injured Bill meets Nurse Rosie. Bill cannot understand why Isabella has not written him any letters. This along with his brother being declared dead and Jimmy being killed in battle brings Bill to the verge of a complete breakdown. Rosie is his strength during this time and she nurses him back to health. Their feelings for each other deepen. As the war ends, Bill makes a difficult decision to return home. This devastates Rosie, they part in anger. Bill returns to Childers and finds that his whole life has fallen apart there. Isabella was pregnant and both mother and baby died during birth. Will Bill’s hatred for De Luca rise to the surface? What is his future? Is it in Australia or France and does it feature Rosie? How do the photos found in the attic tie Bill and Valerie Bernard’s lives together?
