April 1939. Warsaw, Poland. To the casual observer, the houses on Podwale Street look very much alike. Yet at 16 Podwale, nothing is as it seems. Within, the walls hold many secrets that could destroy the lives of its inhabitants as they witness the city’s ever-mounting tide of Nazism. Wealthy recluse Elwira Malinowska is more an observer than participant in life. In her seclusion at 16 Podwale, she watches the world pass her by. Then Raz Zielinsky comes to work as a housemaid for her father, and Elwira’s life is suddenly divisible by two -- the time before Raz and the time after. Years pass, and the women become lovers. They depend on each other. Elwira is Raz’s protector, and Raz is Elwira’s conduit to the outside world, where people speak of nothing but the continual threat of war with Germany. Elwira, a steadfast Catholic, believes Pope Pius XII will intervene to save Poland from the rumblings of a maniac and an imminent invasion. But when the Pope fails to mediate peace and the political situation worsens, Elwira and Raz plan their escape to freedom.

The View from 16 Podwale Street

The clerk’s eyebrows went up like question marks, and then she went back to flipping pages in her magazine.


Calm down, Elwira told herself. Raz was outside, only a few steps away. If I call her, she’ll hear me and come. I can do this. She picked up a figure of a child playing a harp and held it up to her eyes for a closer look.


“I assure you it’s genuine,” the clerk said, “an authentic piece,” then she dropped the magazine on the counter and walked over to Elwira. “Are you looking for a gift, perhaps something for a friend or relative?” She moved closer, brushing an arm against Elwira, choosing another figure from the shelf. “This one is quite nice, don’t you think?”


Elwira opened her purse and handed the clerk the photograph of Pope Pius XII. “I’d like to find a suitable frame,” she said. “Like one of those in the window.”


The clerk said it was a good likeness. “For a newspaper print. You can even see the tiny jewels on the front of his crown?”


Chapter 12