I could not have written this novel without the steady constructive feedback of my writing group, Two Bridges, led by Walter Cummins. The thoughtful editing by Linda Davies and Susan O’Neill helped reshape the manuscript.

In the fall of 2015, I asked my friend Emily White (Klores) to walk with me in Central Park in New York City, where I mulled aloud my ideas for a new novel dealing with trafficking. Emily’s free associations clicked synapses in my brain, and although the story that emerged once I sat down in front of my computer was not the one we had discussed, she had fueled my creative process and later commented on an advanced draft.

I found an abundance of English-language research material about Zwi Migdal on the internet and at university libraries. Among the many sources, I would like to single out Isabel Vincent’s excellent book Bodies and Souls: The Tragic Plight of Three Jewish Women Forced into Prostitution in the Americas (William Morrow, 2005) and Mir Hayim Yarfitz’s Ph.D. dissertation, “Polacos, White Slaves, and Stille Chuppahs: Organized Prostitution and the Jews of Buenos Aires, 1890–1939” (UCLA, 2012). Also worth mentioning are Donna J. Guy’s Sex and Danger in Buenos Aires: Prostitution, Family, and Nation in Argentina (University of Nebraska Press, 1990) and Nora Glickman’s The Jewish White Slave Trade and the Untold Story of Raquel Liberman (Garland, 2000).

No birthing of a novel can take place without the dedicated midwifing of a team, starting with my wonderful agent, Annelise Robey from Jane Rotrosen Literary Agency. To my delight, my editor at William Morrow, the extraordinary Katherine Nintzel, had thought the topic “stupendous” when I first introduced it to her and loved the final product. Birthing The Third Daughter from its manuscript form, she has brought it to its final destination—the hands of my readers.

I could not have hoped for a better marketing team at HarperCollins—Jen Hart, Molly Waxman, Amelia Wood, Bianca Flores, and Vedika Khanna. I have been impressed by their professionalism and encouraged by their enthusiasm about the novel. Their dedication to making The Third Daughter a success has been reinforced by my own events coordinator, Lisa Bernard, who has galloped out of the gate to fill my calendar with dozens of speaking engagements.

And as always, there is Ron, whose love, devotion, and support are forever the wind in my wings that lifts me to new heights.

Glossary

Glossary (Yiddish or Hebrew, unless listed otherwise):

a bissele—A little.

abacus—(Latin) A calculating tool constructed on a wooden frame with beads sliding on wires.

abrazo—(Spanish) Embrace, a tango position.

adornos—(Spanish) Embellishments of tango moves to demonstrate skill.

aliyah—Being called to face the congregation and read aloud a Torah portion.

alte-zachen—Old things. Refers to the ragman who sells them.

aperitivo—(Spanish) Appetite-stimulating alcoholic drink.

bandoneón—(Spanish) Early version of accordion played at milongas.

bella—(Spanish) Beautiful (feminine).

caballero—(Spanish) Knight, cavalier, gentleman, or horseman.