Twenty-one year old Sarah finds it inconceivable that her life bears any resemblance to her grandmother's of sixty years before-that is, until she breaks the news to her mother that she's carrying her estranged boyfriend's child. Sarah returns home from college the summer of 1972 fearing that her pregnancy will shatter her parents, but she's ecstatic with Ivan's offer to marry her. She postpones her news, however, after a scene between her grandmother and grandfather at his deathbed reveals how her grandfather left his pregnant wife during their wedding reception to take the love-of-his-life home. Sarah wrangles with her tight-lipped mother, Marta, about divulging more. But when Sarah vows to raise her family on the farm, Marta shares the lurid details. Still, Sarah would need something far more convincing to acknowledge all the dark similarities to her life ... like Ivan's profession of love ... for her. This family saga-with ethnic and historical complications-exposes the tacit, destructive legacy parents can bequeath to generations and the need to sever those shackles ... once and for all.