When Gizella Buzler returns to the country of her birth, Transylvania, she's determined to continue her education in the years leading up to World War II. Once there, she re-establishes contact with her estranged father and rediscovers the customs of her homeland, throwing herself into living life on a homestead. In this biography, Gizella's daughter shares an account of her mother's life, including her love affair with bureaucrat Georg Bentz. The two enjoy an unlikely but delightful courtship amid Hungarian gypsy music and the customs of Austro-Hungary. They marry and plan for a happy future together, but it's ruined when her Georg is killed. Gizella must support herself and her small daughter, and she takes a job with the postal service as World War II begins in Eastern Europe. Amid all this, the Nazis round up one hundred Jewish families and take them to the village where Gizella serves as postmistress. She becomes good friends with most of them and helps the Jewish people whenever she can.