The Widows Opera is the story of people whose lives have been uprooted by the cataclysms of the twentieth century — World War II, Stalin's purges, and, earlier, the Armenian Genocide.

The novel chronicles the life of Ursa Smirny, a Polish refugee in New York City. It also recounts her friendship with the ruthless Nina Morphy, and Nina's mysterious husband, nicknamed Morpheus by the murderers, thieves, and other felons of the prisons where he spends his time. Among the many minor characters, some are comic, like the benighted Mr. Darkwood, and some otherworldly, like Mr. Tannini; a self-styled nineteenth-century humanist and bibliophile. But it is also a story of betrayal, murder, and revenge that moves quickly from the first page to the last.