The writing on the wall

New Yorker Renata, a librarian with a gift for languages, is a hard nut to crack, so thick is the protective shell she acquired after the mysterious death of her twin sister when they were 16. Claudia had just given birth to a daughter, father unidentified. Shortly thereafter, Renata's father also dies, her mother loses her mind, and Renata ends up raising her niece only to have the child disappear. All this pain keeps Renata on guard against intimacy, even with her kind lover, Jack, until 9/11 delivers another motherless girl to her doorstep.