Born into an impoverished Hawaiian family, Maile Manoa dreams of leading a life in music. It is an ambition that will lead her to the high-stakes world of 1960s European opera. In Salzburg, Austria, she attracts the attentions of powerful men and falls in love—with a troubled young musician, with the city, and with the intrigue that surrounds her. When Werner von Wehlen, the renowned conductor of the city's glamorous music festival, taps her for a leading role, Maile is forced to confront the Nazi heart of the classical music scene and von Wehlen's treacherous past. On the evening of her brilliant premiere, with Soviet tanks threatening to invade the city, Maile must choose between recognition on the world stage or escaping the city with her life—and her conscience—intact.