One of my favorite book reviewers called this a "masterpiece," and I couldn't agree more. This book covers a lot of ground, but in a nutshell, it's the story of old Hollywood, an industry founded by Jews during WWII. Mercury Pictures, one of the big movie houses at the time, becomes a refuge for immigrants from all over Europe escaping the war. We follow Maria Lagana, whose father is confined to San Lorenzo after being accused of anti-fascist activities. She and her mother flee to California only to be classified as an "enemy aliens" and limited to a 5-mile radius of their homes. We also meet Eddie Lu, a Chinese-American actor who is offered roles as a Japanese villain while at the same time the Japanese are being forced into internment camps. The war propaganda machine in Hollywood is robust. We also meet Anna Weber, a miniature model-maker from Berlin who fled and left her Communist parents and Nazi party ex-husband and son in Germany with heartbreaking results. And those are just a few of the stars of this show. Marra's writing is gorgeous, and while the novel primarily deals with grave topics, there is a cast of quirky, funny characters that will make you laugh out loud.