Victoria Hislop

Sonia knows nothing of Granada's shocking past, but ordering a simple cup of coffee in a quiet cafe will lead her into the extraordinary tale of a family's fight to survive the horror of the Spanish Civil War. Seventy years earlier, in the Ramirez family's cafe, Concha and Pablo's children relish an atmosphere of hope. Antonio is a serious young teacher, Ignacio a flamboyant matador, and Emilio a skilled musician. Their sister, Mercedes, is a spirited...

"Thessaloniki, Greece, 1917: As Dimitri Komninos is born, a fire sweeps through the thriving multicultural city where Christians, Jews, and Muslims live side by side. It is the first of many catastrophic events that will forever change this place and its people. Five years later, as the Turkish army pushes west through Asia Minor, young Katerina loses her mother in the crowd of refugees clambering for boats to Greece. Landing in Thessaloniki's harbor,...

"Gret︠s︡ii︠a︡ - kolybelʹ evropeĭskoĭ t︠s︡ivilizat︠s︡ii. Saloniki - krupneĭshiĭ gorod-port na severe strany, drevniĭ gorod, nazvannyĭ v chestʹ sestry Aleksandra Makedonskogo. Gorod, v kotorom vekami zhili li︠u︡di raznykh nat︠s︡ionalʹnosteĭ i veroispovedaniĭ. "Nitʹ" - blesti︠a︡shchiĭ rasskaz o druzhbe i li︠u︡bvi, vernosti i predatelʹstve. Zakhvatyvai︠u︡shchai︠a︡ semeĭnai︠a︡ saga, nasyshchennai︠a︡...

A couple survives together the upheavals of the Turkish and German rule in Salonika; their English-born grandson hears their story.