Sarah's dream of becoming a pianist is shattered when she bombs a crucial performance. Now in Munich, she feels like an imposter in her job as a magazine editor, until a chance encounter leads her to redirect her own future. Mueser's debut novel explores failure and second chances, cultural identity and privilege, and the timeless power of music.

"A heartwarming story about the powers of music and friendship. Sarah's hope of becoming a concert pianist was shattered when she bombed an important performance of a Mozart concerto. Now in Munich, she feels like an imposter in her job as a food magazine editor. A chance encounter in a music shop leads to a surprising friendship with an elderly widower with a unique grand piano. When they start meeting to play Mozart's works for four hands, Sarah unravels the mysteries of his war-time past, uproots a musical secret in her own family--and finds the strength to redirect her own future. Laced with melodies from Mozart and Schumann to Toto and Nena, The Girl with Twenty Fingers will delight readers, while asking the question: Can music change lives? Kate Mueser's debut novel cracks open notions of failure and second chances, living to the fullest and dying without regrets, and cultural identity and privilege, making it both timeless and urgently relevant to our age."--Amazon.