Dissonance: A Novel

Young Soviet pianist Natalia Aronovich is poised for international stardom when, in one shocking act, a Red Guard officer interrupts her performance and removes her from the stage. She later learns the KGB has arrested her father, Pravda journalist Mikhail Aronovich, for his undercover involvement with Soviet dissidents, refuseniks, and Israeli Intelligence.



Soviet officials force Natalia to leave Russia, but she is determined to return and free her father from certain death in the Gulag. She seeks help from Yonatan Yerushalmi, a Mossad agent, but he finds Natalia’s request impulsive and refuses to assist her. Undaunted, Natalia recruits Soviet-Israeli doctor Tanya Shlain and, equipped with aliases, fake passports, and firearms, they embark on a perilous mission to smuggle Mikhail out of Russia.



Against the backdrop of an oppressive Soviet regime and escalating Mid-East tensions in the months leading to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Dissonance takes the reader on an emotional and unforgettable journey—from the soul of a pianist who must reinvent herself, to the conflicts that usher in an unforgiving war.