Mamie was eleven when the Künstlers escaped Vienna in 1939 to sunny, surreal Los Angeles, joining a colony of Jewish musicians, writers, and intellectuals who fled Hitler. Now 93, as clever and glamorous as ever, she lives with only her inscrutable housekeeper and her St. Bernard, until her grandson Julian stops in on his way to fame in Hollywood. Then the pandemic lockdown hits. With Julian stuck there for the foreseeable future, Mamie begins to tell stories of old L.A. and escapades with émigrés like Arnold Schoenberg, Christopher Isherwood, and Thomas Mann. Oh, and Greta Garbo.

"A seamless, multilayered saga about family dynamics and relationships, immigration, the early days of Hollywood and the often disturbingly cyclical nature of history…. Truly a trove of unexpected rewards."—BookPage (starred review)