Summary

In the Prologue, twelve-year-old Meredith Whitson believed that she could break through her mother’s coldness toward her by performing a Christmas play based on a fairy tale that her mother told her and her little sister, Nina. The tale was the story of a peasant girl who fell in love with a prince. Jeff Cooper, Meredith’s friend, was playing the prince. Meredith hoped the play would become a family tradition. Their family had few traditions. They did not even know the age of their Russian mother.

Meredith and Nina’s father, Evan, tried to discourage Meredith from putting on the play. Meredith convinced him it would only take ten minutes. He agreed because his daughter was so excited. Meredith wanted so badly for her mother to notice her. She wanted to prove that she had listened to and enjoyed her...