Reeling from the death of her husband Mitch, Nora Reinhart finds herself in Berlin, Germany, on a hastily conceived sabbatical from her teaching position at a small Michigan college. Despite the novelty of her new locale, Nora's struggles persist as she tries to understand her role in the tensions of her tumultuous marriage. Along the way she she encounters a Jewish architect from Belgium and the great niece of a Nazi war criminal whose dark secrets eclipse her own. With the help of family and friends, Nora confronts her demons and learns that the lessons of childhood may endure but don't necessarily need to destroy.