Fact1: young Max Skinner spends childhood summer holidays In prologue learning to appreciate finer things in life at Henry 's vineyard estate in Provence in south-eastern France, Fact2: young Max Skinner parents have died in accident, Fact3: his latest has caused real trouble for owners of trading company, Fact4: Max is suspended from work and trading activities having failed to report to directors in person, Fact5: unexpected arrival of young Napa Valley oenophile Christie Roberts claims to be Henry 's previously unknown illegitimate daughter
Output: In the prologue, a young Max Skinner, whose parents have died in an accident, spends his childhood summer holidays learning to appreciate the finer things in life at his Uncle Henrys vineyard estate in Provence in southeastern France. Some 25 years later, Max is an unethical yet very successful hardworking Londonbased bond trader with a sense of humour. Following his uncles death, Max is the sole beneficiary of the French property. He travels to Provence to prepare a quick sale. Shortly after arriving, while fumbling with a cell phone, he unknowingly causes a local cafe owner, Fanny Chenal, to crash her bicycle. Subsequently, he discovers that his latest City financial stunt has caused real trouble for the owners of the trading company he works for, and the CEO orders him to return to London as soon as possible. To assist in his planned sale of the property, Max hurriedly snaps some photos and in the process falls into an empty swimming pool. He is unable to escape until Fanny Chenal, driving by and spotting his rental car, appears and turns on the water supply in retaliation. This delay causes Max to miss his flight and, having failed to report to the directors in person, he is suspended from work and trading activities for one week. On Henrys estate, Max must deal with a gruff, dedicated winemaker, Francis Duflot, who fears being separated from his precious vines. Duflot pays a vineyard inspector to tell Max that the soil is bad and the vines worthless. In the meantime, they are surprised by the unexpected arrival of young Napa Valley oenophile Christie Roberts, who is backpacking through Europe and claims to be Henrys previously unknown illegitimate daughter. Max realizes, but does not tell her how French law decrees, even though Christie is not his Uncles legitimate daughter, she still becomes the rightful heir to the Chateau and vineyards. As Max did earlier, Christie finds the house wine unpalatable but is impressed by Maxs casual offering of the boutique Le Coin Perdu the lost corner vintage, noting some intriguing characteristics. During dinner at the Duflot house, while slightly inebriated, Max exposes his concern that she might lay claim to the estate and brusquely interrogates her. Max gets updates on office politics from his assistant Gemma, who warns him of the ambitious antics of other employees. To ensure he is not usurped by Kenny, his secondincommand in London, through whom Max continues to direct trades, Max intentionally gives the ambitious young trader bad advice, getting Kenny fired. Max becomes enamoured with the beautiful, feisty cafe owner Fanny, who is rumoured to have sworn off men. He successfully woos Fanny into his bed, where she leaves him the next morning, expecting him to return to his life in London. A disillusioned Christie also decides to move on. Max finds his uncles memoirs, which contain proof of Christies heritage. However, he bids her farewell while handing her an unexplained note inside a book she was reading. While informing Duflot of the pending estate sale, Max learns that the mysterious expensive Le Coin Perdu was made by Henry and Duflot with illegal vines from the estate, bypassing wine classification and appellation laws. The estate is sold and Max returns to London where Sir Nigel, the company chairman, offers him a choice: Money or your life  either a discharge settlement, which includes a lot of zeros, or the partnership in the trading firm, where he would then be made for life. Max asks about Nigels art in the conference room, which Fanny has a copy of in her restaurant. Upon Nigels dismissive comment that the real one is kept in a vault and the 200,000 copy in the office is for show, Max reconsiders if he wants to still be like Nigel. Max invalidates the estates sale with the farewell letter he gave to Christie, which he forged, along with real photos confirming Christie as Henrys daughter with a valid claim to the entire estate. as a child Max signed cheques for his uncle, and is able to replicate his handwriting and signature. He puts his London residence up for sale and returns to Provence, entering into a relationship with Fanny. Christie also returns and she and Francis jointly run the vineyard while trying to reconcile their vastly different philosophies of wine production. Meanwhile, Max is now able to focus his entire attention on Fanny.