Lorenz Brauer is the new star of the international art scene. But hardly anyone suspects that his meteoric ascent is due not just to talent, but to the cunning plan of two very influential women. His younger brother knows that, however. And he also knows that the up-and-coming artist's enigmatic paintings point back to their childhood – the time when Lorenz and Karl had just lost their mother, and when Elsa came into their lives. Elsa, with her matchstick arms, cocky mouth and extra-vagant dresses. The girl one brother lost his heart to, and the other his illusions. The girl neither of them can forget. Tenderly and mercilessly, Astrid Rosenfeld's story spans from a crazy childhood in the countryside to the glamour and perversions of the modern art world.