Flexible as mercury, Louisa quickly adapts, even when the other refugees treat her with contempt. As Nora searches for Bela, she is forced to take stock of her life, a series of disappointments and missed opportunities. She has lost her family and is left with Louisa, who had hidden her during the war. Like the Biblical Ruth, Louisa clings to her dead husband's mother. But to Nora, she is unwanted baggage. Nora sees Bela as her one chance to begin a new life. Yet Bela is far from perfect, and though he knows that Nora has arrived in Haifa, we discover that he is afraid to face her.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the bond between Nora and Louisa is far from straightforward, and that finding Bela holds the key to their futures. Stranded in a new country that asks them to only look ahead, both women must face the past -- and the responsibility each bears for what they have lost. Nora knows how to survive, but Louisa must teach her how to forgive.