Abandoned as a baby, Annika is found and adopted by Ellie and Sigrid,  cook and housemaid for three professors. Growing up in  early-20th-century Vienna, she learns to cook and clean and is perfectly  happy until a beautiful aristocrat appears and claims to be her mother,  sweeping her off to a new life in a crumbling castle in northern  Germany. Annika is determined to make the best of things, and it takes a  while for her to realize that her new "family" has many secrets, most  of them nasty.With the help of Ellie, Sigrid, the professors, and  friends old and new, Annika escapes from a ghastly fate and learns to  face the truth about her relatives.

Winding like a braid through this  story is a mystery involving a chest of worn costumes and junk jewelry  left to Annika by an old woman she has befriended. This is a rich saga  in the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett, full of stalwart friends,  sly villains, a brave heroine, and good triumphing over evil. Annika's  determination to do the right thing is both laudable and utterly  frustrating, especially when readers realize that her loyalty is  misplaced. Almost every character is distinct, but the ones that stand  out are the "regular folk," individuals whose sense of decency propels  them into amazing acts of courage. Vienna itself is colorfully  portrayed, brimming with pastries, coffee, and dancing Lipizzaner  horses.