"Summoned to Ukraine, which he left when he was sixteen, Alexei Bukharin hopes that this likely final encounter with his mother will be the opportunity to ask why she was so distant all his life. He arrives at his old home minutes too late and can only be part of her death vigil. This reaffirms his belief that she never wanted him at all. But she bequeaths him an unexpected and extraordinary gift--a way to 'meet' his long-dead father."