Daughters of Riga

As World War II sweeps over Europe, nine-year-old Danielle Loesseps escapes from Latvia under the protection of the Dutch consul. Her Jewish mother, the consul's secretary, is tragically left behind at the end of a momentous year which sees a heroic scheme to save refugees from the Nazis, the blossoming of a secret love, and an unhappy woman's revenge. The consul's young daughter Berta Vandercam also grows up in the shadow of the war and strives to understand why her father never speaks about their time in Riga. Memories of the Riga consulate and questions about what happened there haunt the survivors as they remake their lives in the postwar world.

Marian Exall is an award-winning author of mysteries and historical fiction. She grew up in England and lived in France and Belgium before moving to the United States where she raised a family and pursued a career as a lawyer. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest.