A series of snapshots from the life of a fictional actress named Shirley serves to weave together thirteen paintings by Edward Hopper (e.g. "Office at Night", "Western Motel", "Usherette", "A Woman in the Sun") into a fascinating synthesis of painting and film, personal and political history. Each station in Shirley’s professional and private life from the 1930s to 1960s is precisely dated: It is always August 28/29 of the year in question, as the locations vary from Paris to New York to Cape Cod.

Max Liebermann, a disciple of Freud, brings his extraordinary skills of perception and forensics--and a deep understanding of human behavior and deviance--to help DI Oskar Rheinhardt solve some of Vienna’s most mysterious and deadly cases.