Accomplished, funny, and exceptionally tall food writer Vita Unwin returns to Romania after many years for a book tour. Vita is eager to see how Romania-a layered brew of the hectic modern and shadowy medieval-has evolved. And she is keen to witness the unveiling of a spectacular work of art by the country's greatest artist. Most of all, she is anxious to reunite with an old flame, a charismatic journalist who exposed the former government's crimes. Eating, drinking, and lecturing her way through her Romanian adventure, Vita crosses paths with an assortment of intriguing characters, including her skillful young guide and a talented art museum curator, an officious cultural attache and a supercilious TV personality, a man who was imprisoned for growing carrots and a mysterious, troubled woman with a horrifically scarred hand. Periodically, she experiences encounters with the country's singular Gypsy, or Roma, people. Vita Unwin enjoys herself immensely. Yet, when a mystery unfolds around a ghastly murder, Vita comes to understand that she must pursue the truth, no matter how dark."