"After a failed apprenticeship, working her way up to head housekeeper of a posh London hotel is more than Sara Smythe ever thought she'd make of herself. But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibility--no mean feat for a servant in 1884. In 1985, Bailey Camden is desperate for new opportunities. Two generations...

Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment, has few visitors, but her weekly Skype calls with her American grandniece Jenny give her great joy and remind her of her own youth. When Doris was a girl she was given an address book by her father, and ever since she has carefully documented everyone she met and loved throughout the years. Looking through the little book now, Doris is struck by the urge to put pen to paper. Writing...