Mischka was born in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, into a Russian-Jewish extended family. When she is seven years old, her parents tell her they are going on vacation to Lithuania. However, the plane lands in Vienna. Mischka must navigate her own path in exile, torn between the myths of her childhood and the promises of the West. Rabinowich captivates not only with her sense of humor but also with her distinctive style: she describes the vacuum between cultures, into which emigration can thrust one, in a sober yet exaggerated manner.