This tender and unusual modern love story, written in a style peppered with literary allusions and riddles, is Russian novelist, Masha Spivak's first foray into English. Katia, born in the old USSR, has two dreams: Love, and the Freedom of the West. Although already married, she wants to marry a foreigner and embarks in the 90s on a passionate affair with a Dutchman, only to be used by him. Then in 2009 her husband leaves her for a younger, bustier piece of eye-candy and she is alone - husbandless, childless and in Moscow. A recuperative trip to the States to visit her oldest friend, Dora,...