Introductory German Lessons: Based on the Beginning German of Dr. Emil Otto, with Amendments and Full Vocabularies (1875)

Sonya, a beautiful Scandinavian girl, is wooed to Paris by Damien. She marries him and hopes he will love her. The marriage deteriorates. In a sidewalk kiosk in Paris she finds the painting of the very man she has seen in her dreams since early childhood, Pierre, the man whose magic and image strongly affect her life. Shortly thereafter she finds herself face to face with him in real life, but he dies in a race car accident before they make physical contact. After the sudden death of her husband, always in search of love, she has passionate encounters with men in France and Spain, resulting in bitter disappointments. She derives solace from the painting and her spiritual dialogs with Pierre. She travels to New York aboard an Italian ocean liner. Her search for the provenance of her enigmatic painting brings her to an art gallery in Manhattan, where she accepts a job offer and subsequently becomes co-owner. She remarries and attempts to reduce Pierreas influence on her psyche. On a trip to Europe she has a mystifying encounter with Pierreas mother. Back in New York she stumbles on shocking discoveries which catapult matters into a downward spiral of unexpected events.