The story is a spirited narrative embracing both diversity and universality. Set in set in small-town America in 199~, the novel’s main characters, six Russian newcomers, provide a fresh perspective on a close-knit college community. It’s a unique opportunity to explore not only the surface differences between Russian and American lifestyles, but the more profound similarities. The novel is, by turns, tragic and heartwarming, passionate and instructive, but always, and ultimately, hope-filled