Alison Booth 
Painting 

When Anika Molnar flees her home country of Hungary not long before the break-up ofthe Soviet Union, she carries only a small suitcase – and a beautiful and much-lovedpainting of an auburn-haired woman in a cobalt blue dress from her family’s hiddencollection.Arriving in Australia, Anika moves in with her aunt in Sydney, and the painting hangs inpride of place in her bedroom. But one day it is stolen in what seems to be a carefullyplanned theft, and Anika’s carefree life takes a more ominous turn.Sinister secrets from her family’s past and Hungary’s fraught history cast suspicion overthe painting’s provenance, and she embarks on a gripping quest to uncover the truth.Hungary’s war-torn past contrasts sharply with Australia’s bright new world ofopportunity in this moving and compelling mystery.