Scuffed binding, see second and third pictures

Some things seem to exist outside of time. They remain the same despite history, wars, totalitarian regimes and the weather.

Such is Mr. Leopold's hotel, actually more of an hour's hotel, founded in the days of the First Republic and offering pleasure and pleasure to couples during the Protectorate, and even after it was nationalized by the Communists. However, the more straightforward love offered by hotel rooms, the more fateful and dramatic relationships took place in the family of the owner and then the manager.

After the very successful novel Blind Map, which describes the dramatic life destinies of three generations of women, in the new book the author focuses on a single character: Leopold's grandson Václav Mánes, who took over the management of the company in the 1960s. Václav is a man without qualities, clear opinions and character, which allows him to deftly navigate the communist regime and keep the family business together, but he has a devastating effect on the relationships in the family and the lives of people who find themselves close to him. Mornštajnová describes and explains Václav's deeds so skilfully that it is only at the end of the book that we are horrified as to whom we have been keeping our fingers crossed the whole time.