“Katherine walks the few blocks to the Old Town Square. She can scarcely believe that she is really standing here again, gazing up at the prismatic medieval towers and gold-tipped spires of the Týn Church and the Old Town Hall tower which have defined this square for six centuries. They give the city a face that foreign occupiers could never paper over. She wants to go and sit by the river, breathe in the beauty of the city and celebrate her return, which feels like the wishes magically granted in fairy tales. Joy wells up at the thought of twelve whole months stretching before her.” From the Introduction