The dying wish of a loving father ignites a family drama that brings two sisters and their acid-tongued, Russian- born mother together in a story that reaches back to WWII Leningrad.
1941: Leningrad, a once magical city besieged by war, cut off from aid, buried in snow. A city full of women desperate to save their children and themselves. 2000: Loss and old age have taken a terrible toll on Anya Whitson. At last, she will reach out to her estranged daughters. In a halting, uncertain voice, she begins to weave a fable about a beautiful Russian girl who lived in Leningrad a lifetime ago. Nina and Meredith sit spellbound at their mother's bedside, listening to a story that spans more than sixty years. The truth behind the story contains a secret so impossible to believe that it shakes the foundation of their family and changes who they believe they are. -- adapted from back cover