Seventy-year-old Andrei reflects back on his life, beginning with his Jewish childhood in Romania on the eve of World War II. Andrei's father, in a desperate effort to save him from the coming Holocaust, hands him over to his captivating uncle, Rudolf, an internationally famous singer of popular operettas. Rudolf is not only a sublimely gifted lyric tenor and a dashing leading man who is the object of many women's affections - but also an artist who lives in the shadow of his own unachieved potential as an opera star. Rudolf takes the boy to London, renames him Andrew, turns all his attention and sardonic humor upon him, and gradually sculpts him into a gentleman.

Vivid, often lighthearted scenes of Andrew's worldly life with Rudolf are intertwined with the unfolding secrets of his forgotten past as Andrei, which have darkened his otherwise happy life. Told in matchless prose, Uncle Rudolf captures, in fine detail, the mood of 1940s Europe - and reveals the emotions of a man whose achievement falls short of his brilliant promise.