Vienna, 1912. After a childhood in poverty, Marie Haidinger has made it. For just a few months, she has been a nanny at 71 Sternwartestrasse – the household of the famous poet Arthur Schnitzler in the respectable Cottage district. When she picks up a book for her employer at a nearby bookstore on Währinger Strasse, she discovers a completely new world: the world of books. And Oskar, the charming yet impoverished bookseller, soon begins to make advances toward her. But does Oskar truly mean it? Marie realizes how fragile happiness can be when Sophie, the Schnitzlers' maid, nearly dies after an abortion. And when she accidentally overhears that her Oskar was seen late at night in the upscale Sacher hotel – in the company of an exceedingly beautiful young lady… Against the backdrop of Arthur Schnitzler's works and meticulously researched events, Petra Hartlieb brings the Vienna of the great poet back to life – from the servants' quarters to the glamorous salons of the free-spirited intellectuals of the time.