In the 1930’s Jewish Community of Aleppo, Syria, thirteen-year-old Lucie lives and works beside Muslims, Armenian Christians, and the French  military.  She  fondly  relates  how  chick-peas  were  used  instead  of  wedding  invitations, where  their  pistachios  were  dried,  indiscreet  tales  of  the  bathhouse,  the  magical  properties of the souk, and the tests for her marriage value involving goats and other barometers. When she gets forced into an engagement with a 29 year-old man, she has to decide between family duty and continued poverty. But this true story is not about a victim. 

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Upon  her  move  to  Japan  in  1936,  Lucie  is  immersed in a new culture and a dynamic international trading business.  With the arrival of World War Two, everything she has built is threatened by  American  bombs,  clever  spies,  Nazi  sympathizers, food shortages, and snakes.  Lucie finally puts  the  funny,  dramatic  stories  that  she  has  shared with millions of Japanese people in writing, so we can all benefit from her life experience and learn a little business along the way.