She was the cherished grandmother who sang songs in Russian, loved to roller-skate, and spoke little of her past. But when Granny Dan died, all that remained was a box wrapped in brown paper. Inside, an old pair of satin ballet shoes, a gold locket, and a stack of letters tied with ribbon. It was her legacy, a secret past, waiting to be discovered by the granddaughter who loved her but never really knew her. It was a story waiting to be told...

The year was 1902. A motherless young girl arrived at ballet school in St Petersburg. By the age of seventeen Danina Petroskova was forced to make a heartbreaking choice - as the world around her was about to change forever. In this extraordinary novel a simple box, filled with mementos from a grandmother, offers a long-forgotten history of youth and beauty, love and dreams.