I read this book when I was in early high school and it was probably the first non-fiction book I thoroughly enjoyed. If you have any interest in genetics and it's ability to explain the complexities of human life, then you must read this book. If I remember correctly, the author is a geneticist and spends the first half of the book detailing case studies in which genetic study helped answer one question or another. The second half of the book is the author's fictional imaginings of the lives of the seven ancient European women from whom all modern people of European ancestry can trace their descent.