Summary

In Chapter 18, on the cruise ship the first day, Meredith was surprised how warmly her mother smiled at one of the servers. She wondered if they would discover that their mother was like a Russian nesting doll, that there were layers and layers to who she really was.

Before Nina let Anya continue the story, she showed her the picture that Meredith found hidden in the lining of the coat. Anya was shocked to see the photo. She told her daughters the story was a real one, but one she could only tell by sharing it in story form.

Anya continues the story: Vera is passionately in love with Sasha despite her mother’s disagreement. They name their first child, a daughter, Anastasia. She is called Anya. Their son, Leo, is born the next year. Even though people are still disappearing, Vera and...