Ballad for Emma depicts the life journey of a woman of Jewish descent who, amid the turmoil of the twentieth century, struggles both to survive and to cope with her love for a man she cannot have. Her story dovetails with that of the old Trenck's Castle, whose fate is miraculously intertwined with hers. Set in Croatia and Hungary, this book explores the dramatic position of one woman under the fascist and communist regimes that left such bloody marks on Europe.