In 1878, the Jewish-Austrian explorer Charles Wiener prepares to be heralded by the scientific community at the Exposition Universelle. The magnificent fair of “technological advances” numbers among its attractions a human zoo; it is ultimately a display of the peak of scientific racism and the European imperialist project. Wiener's exhibited pedigree: the near rediscovery of Machu Picchu, nearly 4,000 plundered artifacts, a book about Peru, and a child. A century and half later, Gabriela Wiener recognizes herself in the brown faces of the ceramic vessels her great-great-grandfather pillaged. Distraught over converging personal crises—the discovery of her bastard lineage, the death of her father, and the revelation of his second secret family—Gabriela embarks on a quest to pick up the pieces of something shattered long ago and hopefully make it whole again.