First published in 1946, inReturn to Jalna, the Whiteoak family reunites after a year of separation. Piers, Renny, and Wakefield return in 1943 during the Second World War. Finch has been off on a concert tour, and Maurice has come home from Ireland. Fifteen-year-old Adeline returns from school and is now the stunning reflection of her namesake. It's a time of change and strain, but the family remains united against all others. This is book 13 of 16 inThe Whiteoak Chronicles. It is followed by Renny's Daughter.

Mazo de la Roche, in 1927, was an impoverished writer in Toronto when she won a $10,000 prize fromThe Atlantic Monthly for her novelJalna. The book became an immediate bestseller and was eventually adapted for stage, screen, and television.