Professor Karl Michaeli is a former star cellist and grantler , as he is in the book. After the death of his beloved wife Maria in 2014, the retired music professor lives alone in a three-room apartment in Vienna. To his displeasure, several foreign families are housed in his apartment building. The widowed, free-spirited apartment building owner Esther Polgar also houses refugees in his home. These are a special thorn in Karl's side.
When terrorists try to seize control of a Berlin-Paris flight, a soft-spoken young American co-pilot struggles to save the lives of the passengers and crew while forging a surprising connection with one of the hijackers.
Young high school teacher Michael Gewa receives a mysterious message - a novel company has bought his internet and cell phone data and issues him a rating based on his digital footprint. After he turns down the offer to keep the rating private in exchange for a monthly fee, things escalate quickly. He finds himself having to fight for his reputation and the damaged trust in him among friends, colleagues and students.
