Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly

Two women, one a Russian Countess and the other one cream of the crop American wealth and society are fast friends and find themselves at a crossroads of a violent and troubled time. The Russian Revolution, the fall of the Tsar and his family and WWI all are at the forefront of their story. Eliza and Sofya continue to keep their friendship and close involvement in each other's lives until the war pulls them to opposite ends of the Atlantic where each will know great joy and suffer tragedy. Friendship, loyalty and unsurpassed strength are evident in each generation of these women who won't give up until injustices are righted and families are reunited. Martha Hall Kelly gives us a tragic and very honest look at a variety of people during that time from the New York society who seemed ambivalent to the plight of the aristocrats fleeing their homeland as well as the Russian aristocrats, their servants and the revolutionaries who sought to take over a world where they had no power. It is a compelling story of the haves and have-nots over two continents and a lifetime away.