It is the story of Kaplan's mother who escaped from Nazi-occupied Vienna to Shanghai under Japanese rule.

It was published in English in Canada and in the U.S. by St. Martin's Press in 2004 and has been republished in Germany as Von Wien nach Shanghai, Italy as Dieci Bottiglie Verdi, Hungary as Sanghaji Fogsag and China as 十个绿瓶子.

Gerda Karpel (referred to always as Nini in the book) is a 5-year-old Jewish girl living in Vienna in 1921.

The book then discusses day-to-day life from the viewpoint of a Jewish girl growing up in Vienna.

The book discusses the political instability caused after the assassination of Engelbert Dollfuss and the suppression of democracy.