Emeralds Never Fade

2012 Benjamin Franklin Award winner in the category of Historical Fiction2011 Written Arts Award winner, Best Fiction & General Fiction Before World War II, two German boys enjoy playing piano, and one visits each week to teach the other. When the Nazis seize power, the lessons must end -- one of the boys is Jewish. Leo Bergner, the Jewish pupil, escapes Germany while his piano teacher, Bruno Franzmann, is called to serve the Fatherland. As the war ends, Bruno escapes to Buenos Aires and Leo begins a career in banking, only to uncover a conspiracy of Jewish persecution that puts him in direct opposition to his beloved Israel, while also jeopardizing his career, his marriage, and his life. In Argentina, Bruno hatches an unscrupulous plot to finance a multi-national corporation, and in time, his efforts require a business trip to London -- his first visit to Europe since he escaped. After forty years, a lost family heirloom will decide their fate.