Budintz's first novel, the book won the 2000 Edward Lewis Wallant Award was shortlisted for the 2000 Women's Prize for Fiction.

The novel initially follows Ilana, a girl fleeing an unnamed Eastern European country and traveling to New York City.

The narrative later becomes interwoven with the story of three other generations of Ilana's family - her daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter.

Publishers Weekly praised Budnitz's "hypnotic prose" and "haunting quality".

[3] In 2000, the novel won the Edward Lewis Wallant Award[4] and was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2000.