« On a short vacation to Budapest, the author finds a small leather book in an antique store. Opening it she discovers pages filled with watercolors, drawings, and messages. The book turns out to be a memory book—a keepsake album kept by Central European girls at the turn of the twentieth century in which to record advice and remember special events. This one contains evergreen truisms and aphorisms written to the book’s owner when she visited places few Americans know. Curiosity and concern propel the author on a multi-year journey into the heart of Old Europe and deep into centuries of art, history, and war. The book lives, the girl lives on, and its message of love finds meaning in our time. » (Publisher's description)