Matelda, the Cabrelli family’s matriarch, has always been brusque and opinionated. Now, as she faces the end of her life, she is determined to share a long-held secret about her own mother’s great love story: with her childhood friend, Silvio, and with dashing Scottish sea captain John Lawrie McVicars, the father Matelda never knew... In the halcyon past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. Her journey takes her from Marseille to Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool—where Italian Scots are imprisoned without cause—as Domenica experiences love, loss, and grief. 100 years later, her daughter and granddaughter face the same big questions about life and their family’s legacy. The two timelines intersect and weave together in unexpected and heartbreaking ways that lead the family to shocking revelations and, ultimately, redemption.