On the eve of World War II, in aplace calledHalf-Village, a young man nicknamed the Pigeon falls in love with a girl fabled for her angelic looks. Tocourt Anielica Hetmansk he offers up his "golden hands" to transform her familys modesthut into a beautiful home, thereby building his way into her heart. Then wararrives tocut short their courtship, delay their marriage, and wreak havoc in all their lives, even sending the young lovers far from home to thepromise of a new life in Krakw.Nearly fifty years later, their granddaughter, Beata, repeats their postwar journey, seeking a new life in the fairy-tale city of her grandmothers stories. But when she arrives in Krakw, instead of the whispered prosperity of the New Poland, she discovers a city caught between its future and its past, and full of frustrated youths. Taken in by her toughtalking cousin Irena and Irenas glamorous daughter Magda, Beata struggles to find her own place in 1990s Krakw and in the constellation of Irena and Magdas fierce love. But unexpected events-- tragedies and miracles-- can change lives and open eyes. And Beata may just find a new way of seeing her family's and her country's history-- as well as a vision for her own role in the New Poland.Whimsical, wise, beautiful, magical, and sometimes even heartbreaking, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially Trueweaves together two remarkablestories, reimagining half a century of Polish history through the legacy of one unforgettable love affair.