On a trip to South India, Lucie, a young French woman, arrives in Kochi. Quickly captivated by this magical city, she discovers the passionate loves and sad secrets of the four Castel brothers, descendants of an aristocratic family in the city, and is enchanted by their abandoned mansion, the "house of reflections." Impressed by the similarity to the story of her own family, Lucie will then remember the "beauties of Tunis," whose lives were overturned when their country gained independence.
The novel "What Love Wants" comes to life again as we follow the destiny of three generations of women, the grandeur of India during the time of British colonialism, the splendor of the maharajas, the beauty of the sunsets over the Sea of Oman, and Kochi, the city with a thousand lagoons filled with water hyacinths.