Shortly after World War II, the author's parents meet in Sweden: Ella, from the Romanian town of Sighet, has survived Auschwitz, while the German Georg fought against Hitler. The little Rose gradually discovers what makes her family special: some relatives exist only in photographs, while others are scattered across the globe. Rose Lagercrantz accompanies her mother Ella in her last year of life and recounts the conversations and experiences they had on their family trips to France, South Africa, Canada, and Hungary. She seeks to understand what it means to still have someone around. Lagercrantz's language is straightforward and calm. This quality creates a strong pull, making it almost impossible to tear oneself away, as Paula Helgesson wrote in Svenska Dagbladet.