This novel tells the absorbing story of the three Tumarkin siblings: reckless Shoe, reclusive Ida, and Johnny, their beautiful, ambivalent younger brother. When Shoe is murdered, her family gathers for her funeral and discovers a will with her final wishes a wife for Johnny and a son for Ida. Johnny refuses to marry a woman upon demand even if he happens to love her. Ida, however, embraces love. She adores her nephew, Moses, and falls for Max, the tall stranger who walks into their lives. Soon, Ida must choose between the dreams that have always offered her shelter and the bold suitor who threatens to dismantle them. And all the Tumarkins, still shaken from losing one family member, must face the threat of losing another. By turns enchanting and unsettling, poignant and wise, this novel marks the debut of a remarkably astute chronicler of the human heart.