Tom, a 28-year-old investment banker, lives a successful life in London with his girlfriend, Ana. Intending to propose, he flies to Spain, seeking her family's blessing. But his plan runs aground when Ana's grandfather, Tito, insists Tom cannot propose without first walking the 800-kilometre pilgrimage across Spain, known as the Camino de Santiago.
'A man would walk across a country without hesitation for the love of his life, no?'
Tom reluctantly accepts his quest, but on the Camino, his plans further unravel with the disappearance of his backpack and the loss of phone coverage. And when all the other hikers seemingly vanish, Tom discovers he has somehow travelled back in time to 1954. His inexplicable arrival in Francoist Spain immediately arouses suspicions, and if he's to find a way back home to Ana and the future, Tom must enlist the help of a motley band of pilgrims destined for Santiago: a poet, nurse, medieval knight and a reclusive fisherman named Fernando - who carries his own dark secret.
Once Upon a Camino is a novel about time - how the regrets of our past prevent us from taking the untrodden paths ahead. It's a story of friendship and connection, of following your heart, despite your better judgement. It's written for those who've already walked to Santiago and others who simply enjoy a journey as much as its destination.