Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Budapest Jews in 1944-45, was arrested by the Soviets and taken to Moscow where he disappeared. Now, more than 70 years after these events, many mysteries about Wallenberg's life and fate persist. As both a literary detective story and historical investigation Alan Lelchuk uses a fictional investigation to explore what really happened.

In 1939 Sweden, two Jewish sisters wait for their parents to join them in fleeing the Nazis in Austria, but while eight-year-old Nellie settles in quickly, twelve-year-old Stephie feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who is as cold and unforgiving as the island on which they live.

Having left Nazi-occupied Vienna a year ago, thirteen-year-old Jewish refugee Stephie Steiner adapts to life in the cultured Swedish city of Gothenburg, where she attends school, falls in love, and worries about her parents who were not allowed to emigrate.

Character is Destiny provides a rare and unique glimpse into Pehr Gyllenhammar's professional triumphs and failures; and his successful efforts to shape industry in Europe, most notably with his creation of the European Roundtable of Industrialists which revitalized Europe's infrastructure through projects like the France-England Channel Tunnel. Character is Destiny also provides a window into his friendships with some of the great luminaries of the world. It is equal parts history, politics, and Gyllenhammar's own personal philosophy--the foundational elements of his life have always been humanism, a fierce commitment to integrity and truth, and a deeply-rooted respect and admiration for the working class. The author of six previous books published in Sweden, for the first time Gyllenhammar has chosen to create an original English-language book in concert with an American editor/writer. The resulting work is directly relevant to the English-language reader and Character is Destiny offers his own wisdom as to what people must do if they hope to see a future in which global business and democracy will survive.