Once upon a time there were two girls living in a Catholic orphanage in Berlin. The girls Berni and Grete are sisters. Berni is a rebel and Grete a frightened little girl with hearing loss. A chance encounter in a store brings them to the attention of Sonje Schmidt who comes to take the girls away. Twelve year old Berni jumps at the chance but nine year old Grete is frightened and gets left behind. At Sonje's Berni meets Anita, a transvestite. The girls work end up working together selling cigarettes at a nightclub, the was pre-war Berlin after all, and becoming best friends.

A couple of years later Grete gets taken in as a maid for the Eisler family. The mother and son, Klaus, are avid Nazis and she is influenced by them. Because of this she does something so hateful that Berni abandons her and the sisters don't speak for over 30 years.

Present day, Berni, now going by the name Anita, has just buried her husband when a letter comes from Grete, now living in New York. Berni's daughter intercepts the letter and communicates with the aunt she never knew existed. She finds out more about her mother's family than she ever knew.

In the background is the story of Klaus Eisler, who has been hiding in the US under an assumed name and is now on the run from the law.

When the sisters finally meet again it is not a happy reunion, especially when Berni finds Klaus in her sister's apartment.

Of course there is a happy ending, because, well there usually is. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.