The Girl from Oto

Book excerpt: In The Girl From Oto, a young American scholar navigates a foreign world, tasting friendship, betrayal and love as she chases the ghost of a Renaissance-era artist through Europe.American art historian Zari Durrell scores a coveted post-doctorate position in Scotland, studying artist Cornelia van der Zee. As Zari decodes clues hidden in two sixteenth-century portraits attributed to Van der Zee, she unearths the traces of a mysterious artist named Mira. Risking her professional reputation and her own safety, Zari follows Mira into the heart of a mountain wilderness.Woven throughout Zari's quest is the swashbuckling story of Mira herself. Born in the Pyrenees mountains during a time wracked by war, plague, and shifting political boundaries, Mira grows up in a convent believing she is an orphan. A friendship blooms between Mira and Arnaud, a boy whose family helps the convent exploit a lucrative trade in merino wool. But when her peaceful existence is shattered, Mira must plunge into the world beyond the convent's gates to confront the harsh truth about her identity and her uncertain future.