Fate has a lot of humor. The narrator of this novel is Adriana Altaras, and she tells with charming tragicomedy about the absurdities of theater life, an unexpected family reunion, and why the Shoah, the tragedy of the 20th century, is the epicenter of her work. Adriana Altaras loves to direct - operas, plays, comedies, tragedies. But one thing she keeps realizing is that sacrifices must be made. Spending weeks anchored in the German wilderness, drowning homesickness in sweet and sour sauce at the local Chinese restaurant, memorizing forty-two names and life stories within twenty-four hours, banning French kisses on stage, and possibly freeing the stage manager from the fly loft. During the rehearsals for Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio," it turns out that the prompter is the greatest challenge.