This captivating book, "The Witch of Portobello," by one of the world's most well-known authors, Paulo Coelho, follows the enigmatic life and disappearance of Athena. This is the tale of Athena, also known as Sherine, according to the name she was given at baptism. Through a succession of taped conversations with those who knew her well or barely at all?parents, coworkers, teachers, friends, acquaintances, and her ex-husband?her life is stitched together. Through a childhood in Beirut and an orphanage in Romania, the tale reveals Athena's enigmatic origins. Her adoptive family relocates to London as war breaks out, where a stunning turn of events takes place. Athena, known as "the Witch of Portobello" for her apparent prophesy talents, abruptly vanishes.