The title of the book refers to a painting, Woman on Fire, by the fictional expressionist artist Ernst Engel, supposedly coveted by many owners over the years. It was seized by the Nazis as degenerate art during WWII, and a well-known shoe designer, Ellis Baum, hires Dan Mansfield, Chicago Chronicle editor turned private investigator to locate it. Dan himself has hired an assistant, Jules Roth, an eager young reporter determined to make a name for herself. Jules finds herself pitted against a ruthless female art gallery owner, Margaux de Laurent, in a race to find the seventy-five year old painting. The novel is full of intrigue, sex and historical tidbits, and wraps up with a satisfying ending. Barr herself was an investigative reporter and is now an author. She considers her four hour interview with Leah Rabin after her husband’s assassination as her most momentous in her career. Sharon Stone has optioned rights to the novel for a movie she is planning.