Jay Martin grew up in Melbourne and lived in the UK, Vietnam, India, Japan and Perth before moving to Canberra, where she worked as a social policy adviser and inadvertently married a diplomat. While in Poland, Jay worked as a freelance writer for Australian and European publications, volunteered at the Warsaw Uprising Museum, and baked one decent chocolate cake. She came to understand snow and vodka, but never, really, pickled herring. Jay lives in Fremantle, Western Australia, with her husband and a cat called Very.

When Jay's husband lands a diplomatic job in Warsaw, she jumps at the chance to escape a predictable life in Canberra for adventure in the heart of central Europe. From glamorous cocktail parties and dining with presidents, to snowy sleigh rides and drinking vodka in smoky bars, Jay is thrown into all that embassy life has to offer. She comes to realize that three things in Poland are certain: death, taxes, and that shop assistants won't have any change. What is less certain is whether her marriage will survive its third Polish winter.