"It was winter when Anne-Merry and Nicolas went to Italy for a weekend", Caydance told Sido. "In the summer, it would have been possible to hike in the hills, but even in the summer, the chances of locating the family of the man -- who sold the book of hours to a shop in a small town not far from Lucca -- were not good. Maria could not remember his name. Peaks of high mountains were white with snow, and there were several feet of snow blocking access roads in the hills. Nico and Anne-Merry posted photos in public places in small towns, promising a reward to anyone who knew to whom the book of hours had belonged.

"One summer long ago", Caydance continued, "with his Italian Mother, Nico drove from Lucca to Lake Garda. He remembered long views across the Lake to rugged cliffs that suggested the perilous route up Campiano-Mancinella Ridge, code-named Riva Ridge, where -- to surprise the German Panzer Corps, who held the Gothic Line and believed it was impregnable -- Anne-Merry's Father and fellow soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division climbed in February, 1945. In the summer, the bluegreen lake was rimmed with sandy beaches, but this 1989 winter weekend, following the 10th Army's route after they took Mt Belvedere, on bleak hill tops, Nico and his wife saw ruins that inspired the diorama, that when they returned, Anne-Merry made in the glass enclosed music box top."