Author Description

With elements of suspense and emotion this novel captures the imagination as well as provokes thought. Jennie, a student at the University of Texas thinks she has her life figured out until her sister's death sends her searching for life's answers. In the fall of 1994, her search leads her to Miercurea-Ciuc, a mountain town in Transylvania, Romania where in the aftermath of communism, forces are whirling about, seemingly gaining momentum like miniature tornadoes. In Ciuc, Jennie teaches English as a foreign language in a Hungarian Gymnasium, where she meets Mara Fasikash, who is deeply haunted by a past ruled by the evil dictator, Nicolai Ceauşescu. When Jennie and Mara's lives collide, together they resolve to unravel a mystery that threatens to unveil the crooked deeds of mobsters and corrupt policemen in Ciuc. Jacqueline Pauly and Judith Pethő spent one school year together in the Transylvanian town of Miercurea-Ciuc, Romania teaching English to Hungarian Romanians in grades nine through twelve. Jacqueline now lives in Lexington, KY and Judith lives in Ciacova, Romania. This debut novel is the outcome of their long lasting friendship, two kindred spirits living parallel lives at cultural and geographical distances.