The weakest part of Rothschild's plot involves would-be love interest Jesse, an innocuous painter/museum guide who is head over heels for Annie and pursues her despite her aloof lack of interest. Once Rebecca links Annie with the painting, she suspects her of being a spy.
Coincidentally, Rebecca has been tasked by her father, Memling, to find this very same artwork for devious reasons that he doesn't share.
Annie finds work as a chef for Rebecca Winkleman, the daughter of a prominent art dealer, and yet Annie never shows them the painting, despite talking to other experts. Having been owned by royalty, the Watteau is initially dismayed by Annie's lack of funds and poor fashion sense. Rothschild gives the title painting its own point-of-view chapters, admirably managing not to get too cutesy. Her attempts to begin a new life are complicated by a junk-shop painting that, unbeknownst to her, is an 18th-century masterpiece by Antoine Watteau. Rothschild's clever follow-up to The Baroness follows brokenhearted Londoner Annie McDee.
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