In the winter of 1947, Alba steps off her ship in New York City to reunite with a father she hardly knows. Having been trained by her mother as a midwife in her native town of San Vittorio, Italy, she has traveled to America to study nursing. But when Alba discovers that her father's home holds an unwelcome surprise, she resolves to return to San Vittorio against her father's wishes. Driven by memories of her old life, she takes a job to earn money for her passage, but the lure of opportunity and the promise of new love draw her ever deeper into her New York life even as she remains determined to leave it.


Madolina's Daughter is a story of immigration in a post-war era and one young woman's quest for independence and self-identity. Through Alba's eyes, it examines the complexities of family relationships, the challenges of making choices, and the wonders and apprehensions of being thrust into a foreign world.