Lily Dunn died seventeen years ago, and the small family that she left behind has buried her memory along with their pain. When her twenty-six-year-old daughter Jillian leaves for a semester in Siena, Italy to complete her Master’s in Art History, she comes upon an unexpected treasure: Lily’s handwritten journal, from a time when she too lived in Siena.
Jillian’s months in Siena are marked by eccentric people, stunning scenery, a trove of exquisite art, and most of all, the enthralling and painful discovery of a mother she never knew and a world of secrets she can’t unlearn. The shadows of the past, the memories of an artist, will either crush or unfold her within the walled city.