From the introduction: Garden at Sainte-Adresse the painting was called, featuring a charming little view of the English Channel from the seaside village of the same name, in northern France. Astrid had always assumed the painting was a reproduction--what with the original being one-of-a-kind and likely on display in a prestigious art museum - but she had recently learned that this was indeed the original, acquired despite considerable protest for an even more considerable sum of money.