Fake or fortune? Or something else entirely ...

Daisy Staunton and Ben Tarrant meet at an auction and discover they own identical copies of a Victorian portrait of an elegant, enigmatic ancestor of theirs. But is one a fake? On a sweeping trail of mystery and intrigue that leads them across Europe – from the impoverished shtetls of Russia to the elegance of Hapsburg Vienna and Victorian London – they uncover the story of two young Jewish sisters, Rosa and Lena Rabinovitch, forced to take heart-breaking decisions in their attempts to survive.

Ben, a primary-school teacher, and Daisy, a successful marketing executive, initially do not hit it off. But, compelled to prove the paintings’ provenance, they reluctantly form an alliance. Each is dealing with a personal issue – Ben increasingly despondent about advanced plans for a flashy expensive wedding, and Daisy fed up of playing second fiddle to her boyfriend’s all-consuming career. But discovering disturbing secrets about their past makes them question their own lives – who they really are, and, more importantly, who they want to be.