Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things. The Author uses her characters to illustrate a story of everyday life during a peaceful interlude in twentieth century Czechoslovakia. For Millie and Katerina (Kacenka), bound together by birth and tragedy, life is not always ordinary. Choices are made for better or worse and at times, the consequences aren't always recognized until too late.
This story is about keeping promises and it is a thread that connects the characters throughout the narrative. Katerina's promise takes her on an adventure to America. Her journey is a courageous one, but it is also criminal. It is a story about human character and how it can serve one's failings or triumphs. The character that's developed within will ultimately reveal itself.
And finally, like most ordinary people everywhere, life's focus is on what affects one's immediate world. At the same time, other forces are brewing outside of that limited view. In the end, we are all ordinary people.