Alissa Lukara

Secrets of the Trees Alissa Lukara

Nikkie, a twenty-two-year-old dancer performing at the Hollywood Bowl, is about to become a star. Instead, at the height of her performance, she's sent reeling by the vision of a girl and her parents being shot in a forest in 1940s Latvia. Knowing she will not be able to dance again until she solves the mystery of the vision, she and her fraternal twin Tom go on a quest to Latvia, the land of their ancestors, to uncover the secrets hidden in the trees of her vision and to find the father they've never met.

The novel is set in 2003, thirteen years after a nonviolent Singing Revolution freed Latvia from fifty years of Soviet rule. The world-famous Latvian Song and Dance Festival, the country's cultural masterpiece, is about to take place. During her search, Nikkie discovers the Latvians' mystical soul connection to nature and trees and the unifying power of their mass choir singing and dancing. She confronts how her ancestors' resilience in the face of challenge has unconsciously shaped her own life and how helping the dead of her vision would not only heal them but also heal and free her to trust life and fulfill her own dreams.