In Luxembourg City, Valery Schroeder lives a solitary life attending art classes and guitar lessons, stealing books and antagonising strangers. At work she is the office weirdo, at her archery club she is a deranged stalker, and in various restaurants and hotels she is Therese de Montsillac, owner of the financial investment company One Brave Bird.
Only Valery knows who she really is; the daughter of strange parents who made her sing for money. After their deaths in a car accident, she inherits the family fortune, on one condition: Valery must carry out a hoax that fools the people of Luxembourg City.
Over time Valery has withdrawn into a make believe world of fantasy, conspiracy and isolation, taking her medieval longbow to secluded forests and following the career of her idol, notorious German cellist Ursula von Schumann.
When Valery tells people she's travelling to Lausanne to meet Ursula she is dismissed as obsessive, possibly dangerous. As the concert date approaches, Valery's plans become increasingly bizarre, risking her career and, after receiving a suspended prison sentence, even her freedom.
One Brave Bird and the Book Thief is a tale of isolation, perseverence and a lesson in how to navigate a world where outsiders are feared and rejected.