content: This book is really a book of short stories woven together and proceeding backwards chronologically to trace the provenance of the painting. The stories are not connected very well although they build on each other, the transitions from one story to the next are not very good but the concept works if you treat each as a standalone story. Where this novel really shines is in Vreelands descriptive prose. She excels in evoking the emotions and feelings evident in a piece of art work, even if the art is fictional. I liked the writing so well that I wished the painting existed so I could see it. The story development itself was a little disappointing but it was a surprisingly quick read.