When college teacher Sarah Brandau is invited to a literary conference in Prague, she persuades her grandmother, Edith, who raised her when her parents died, to travel from Manhattan for a reunion in the fabled city. Exploring the streets near their hotel on their first night in Prague, they browse an antique shop. Attracted to the picture's ornate frame, Edith chooses a reproduction of a city scene. When they return to their hotel and examine their purchase more closely they discover they've gotten more than they bargained for. Edith's impulsive purchase plunges them into a complex world of international theft, Nazi war crimes, and a lethal secret that puts the women in more danger than they could ever have imagined when they planned a shared holiday.