Anna Winger's novel is set in Berlin during the dreary days of early winter. Hope is an American who has just moved to the city with her husband and who is not doing very well; Walter is an aging actor. He'd been famous when he was young, acting in a popular soap opera, but now he's making a living as the voice of Tom Cruise in movies dubbed into German and dreaming of a more successful life in California. The novel follows both characters as they meet and form a tenuous friendship and as they try to move forward.

The plot was slight and simultaneously far-fetched and very quiet. But the feel of living in a large German city as a newly-arrived foreigner was accurate. Winger gets the atmosphere right. And while Hope's reasons for her passivity are entirely valid, she's more unprepared for life in Berlin than I'd expect, especially given how well-educated she is and the months she had to prepare. For example, she's unaware of both history and the basic information present at the beginning of any guidebook. She's ignorant of both the Berlin Wall and how to use the U-Bahn. She would have been a more believable character if people weren't forever patiently explaining things she really should have known. ( )