It consists of several intertwining stories concerning the residents of Echo Park , a fictitious Battery Park condominium and its Romanian concierge , Farro Fescu . Residents include a quilter commissioned by the United Nations , an undertaker , an ex-Luftwaffe pilot , a plastic surgeon specialising in sex change operations , and the story involves the complex interactions between them , including love affairs , rape , suicide and poisoning . It also includes the impact on the residents of both the 1993 bombing and 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center
1993 bombing
1993 World Trade Center bombing
Between Two Rivers