A Soviet-era prima ballerina who defected to America confronts secrets from her past as she auctions her stunning jewelry in this moving debut novel.
"A magnificent tale of love, loss, betrayal, and redemption." —Washington Post
When Nina Revskaya puts her remarkable jewelry collection up for auction, the former Bolshoi Ballet star finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed her life half a century earlier. It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of dance and fell in love, and where, faced with Stalinist aggression, terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape to the West.
Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But now Drew Brooks, an inquisitive associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor who believes Nina's jewels hold the key to unlocking his past, begin to unravel her story—setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.
"A briskly paced, fresh, and engaging first novel dealing with the pain of loss and the power of love." —Booklist
"An elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory, and solitude that brings to life modern-day Boston and postwar Russia through a profound love story. Graceful, moving, and unexpected." —Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Dante Club