Ana's Dream

A Guarneri violin is one of the most revered and priceless musical instruments in the world. Few products of the great Guarneri family - master Italian violinmakers of the 17th and 18th centuries - are left in existence today and are therefore revered and guarded. A musician is on the fast track with a violin such as this. An object of such rarity is bound to be the target of thieves worldwide. Such is the case in Barbara Boudreaux's second novel detailing life behind the scenes of a symphony orchestra, "Ana's Dream." Ana Iliescu is a downtrodden refugee of Eastern Europe who arrives in America with a dream. A talented and well-trained violinist, she hopes to secure a life of happiness for herself in which she is free to play her music. When she secures a second-chair position with the San Sebastian Symphony, she feels that she has made a small beginning. Daniel Lessing, a highly accomplished musician and former love of Ana's, plans to visit the symphony for a solo performance with none other than his newly acquired Guarneri instrument. At the end of the night, the violin is missing, there has been a shocking fatality, and Ana finds herself rather more involved in the incident than she would wish. The symphony falls under siege by the media, police, and a wily insurance investigator from London. Has Ana's dream of happiness been crushed?