1953. Simon Putnam, newly hired by a distinguished New York publishing firm, gets his first assignment: editing The Vixen, the Patriot and the Fanatic, a lurid bodice-ripper improbably based on the recent trial and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. It is a potboiler intended to shore up the firm's failing finances. Simon's mother was a childhood friend of Ethel Rosenberg's; his parents mourn Ethel's death. Simon meets The Vixen author, reckless,...

Early in the twentieth century, Nathan embarks on a voyage from Russia to New York City hoping to become an opera singer, and works hard while missing his home and family. Includes note about the author's grandfather, who inspired the story, and his children.