A journey through the Eternal City and a stroll through Europe's diverse history. In "Shadow Play," Rome is both a mythical place of longing and a vibrant city populated by lovable and quirky characters. The narrator encounters pastors and beggars, beloved chickens, and cunning pickpockets. With a lot of humor, she describes life alongside an Estonian diplomat and reflects on her time in Berlin and her childhood in Stalinist Estonia. Viivi Luik takes her protagonist through a world long after the fall of the Iron Curtain. While memories of early experiences, when Rome was merely an unattainable dream, remain vivid, the Eternal City has always provided a standard, a sense of direction. When the dream finally becomes reality, the narrator is a "seasoned" woman.