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Deep in the Carpathian Mountains, a girl's birth coincides with the execution of Nicolai Ceausescu, Romania's brutal Communist leader from 1965-1989. The deft drama of this historical leap into freedom foretells an interesting life for baby Marta, now a hard-working, kind-hearted but financially desperate young woman. When her family can no longer support her, Marta accepts a job offer to caretake the elderly at a retirement home in Europe. When she arrives on the outskirts of Amsterdam, rape and forced prostitution await instead of freedom. Imprisoned behind the glass window of a sex parlor, her family's life threatened if she tries to leave, Marta's life seems over.
With skilled pacing and dialog, Leger swiftly sets up a conflict between Marta's deliciously villainous pimp and her struggling saviors. The story rapidly progresses, weaving the universal threads of human trafficking and abuse into one woman's story. Details of the sex trade and the sleazy, selfish lifestyle of Piet the pimp ring true. Leger adroitly showcases Amara Legal Services, which provides free help to individuals whose rights have been violated through commercial sex.
Leger shines when her male characters discuss the consequences of getting involved in others' problems and the moral dilemmas of prostitution: Is it harmless to hire a prostitute? A bit more showing versus telling would strengthen this light. Leger squeezes an excellent morality play between the parallel lives of Marta and the young daughter of Piet. Romantics will swoon over unlikely but rewarding altruistic developments. Leger writes an entertaining story that exposes the horrid ease of sex trafficking while pulling the reader through a plot that swells the sympathetic senses but holds the outcome secret until the last few exciting pages.