The Eighth Life (for Brilka)

A gripping chocolate-flavoured family saga set against the backdrop of the entire twentieth century: in Tsarist Russia and Berlin after the fall of the communist regime.

Georgia, 1900: It all starts like a fairy tale. Great-great-grandfather brings back the recipe for the best hot chocolate in the world from his trip to Vienna. It's thick, black as the night before a storm and utterly irresistible. Its consumption, however, has tragic, often fatal consequences... The terrified chocolatier, who, like all Georgians, believes in fairy tales, soon becomes convinced that a curse rests on his delicious drink. Nevertheless, she will pass the recipe on as a family secret to her daughter Anastasia, who will return to making chocolate repeatedly during her nearly 100-year life.

Germany, 2006: Anastasia's great-granddaughter, Nica, cut off contact with her family and moved to Berlin. Georgia is in the midst of a civil war and Nica's niece Brilka refuses to return to Tbilisi after a trip to the West. Nica will meet her and tell her the whole family story. Hot chocolate, prepared according to an old family recipe, has brought comfort and misfortune for six generations...